Justice Haastrup rules Police Service Commission acted illegally; top brass Owohunwa, Igweh, Lough return to service
Judicial Thunder in Abuja: A National Industrial Court ruling has upended the Police Service Commission’s purge, ordering the recall of nearly 200 senior officers dismissed in a controversial age scandal. Among those reinstated are AIG Idowu Owohunwa and ACP Simon Lough, SAN — even as they battle separate criminal charges.
In a ruling that has rattled Nigeria’s security establishment, the National Industrial Court, Abuja Division, has ordered the immediate reinstatement of 196 police officers controversially forced into retirement by the Police Service Commission (PSC) over alleged age falsification.
Delivering judgment in Suit No. NICN/ABJ/28/2025 on Tuesday, Justice Rakiya Haastrup declared the PSC’s action “illegal, void and of no effect,” stressing that the Commission had no authority to override valid court judgments or alter officers’ appointment dates.
The order affects officers from Cadet ASP Force Courses 18, 19, and 20, many of whom had neither reached the statutory retirement age of 60 nor completed 35 years of service.
High-Profile Names on the List
The ruling reinstates some of the Force’s most prominent figures, including:
AIG Idowu Owohunwa
CP Benneth Igweh
ACP Simon Lough, SAN
CP Aina Emmanuel
ACP Dakon Philip Sarpiya
ACP Salama Wakili Abdul
AVP Grace Ejiofor
The PSC’s controversial purge followed an extraordinary meeting on February 20, 2025, where it resolved to retire senior officers accused of manipulating their records. But the claimants argued that their appointments as Cadet ASPs were fresh service entries, a position already upheld in previous judgments delivered in 2019 and implemented by the PSC in 2021.
Justice Haastrup granted all reliefs sought by the claimants, issuing a perpetual injunction restraining both the PSC and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, from attempting similar actions against officers who have not yet reached statutory retirement conditions.
Even as the officers celebrate reinstatement, a separate criminal case hangs over their heads. Five of them — AIG Owohunwa, CP Benneth Igweh, CP Ukachi Peter Opara, DCP Obo Ukam Obo, and ACP Lough — are facing a 14-count charge of conspiracy, forgery, falsification of age, and fraudulent declarations filed by the Inspector-General of Police.
But their arraignment has stalled for the third time. At the last sitting before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the FCT High Court, Maitama, prosecutors admitted they were unable to personally serve the defendants, despite attempts at their last known addresses and even forwarding the charges to their WhatsApp accounts.
Prosecution counsel ACP Rimamsomte Ezekiel urged the court to issue a bench warrant, accusing the officers of evading justice. But defence lawyer Terkaa Aondo (SAN) countered, insisting personal service is mandatory in criminal proceedings. Justice Halilu agreed, ruling that the trial cannot proceed without proper service.
As of press time, both the PSC and the Office of the Inspector-General of Police had yet to react to the ruling. With a court order demanding reinstatement on one hand and criminal charges looming on the other, the Force faces a storm that could further erode public trust in Nigeria’s policing system.
For now, 196 officers once disgraced under a cloud of scandal may return to service — but their reputations remain on trial.
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