The National Industrial Court has ordered the Police Service Commission (PSC) to pay retired Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Joseph Mbu N40 million as damages.
The court found that Mr Mbu’s retirement before the mandatory age of 60 was unlawful.
Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae stated, ”I hold that the claimant’s premature retirement through a press release on July 2, 2016, is unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void, and of no effect.”
The court further set aside the purported retirement and declared that Mr Mbu remained an officer of the Nigeria Police Force ( NPF) until he attained the mandatory retirement age of 60 on May 10, 2018.
Additionally, the court ordered the defendant to pay Mr Mbu his salaries, allowances, and entitlements from July 2, 2016, when he was wrongly retired, until May 10, 2018, when he should have retired at 60.
As part of the judgment, the court awarded the claimant N750,000 as the cost of the suit. The judge warned that failure to comply with the court’s order within 30 days would result in a 10 per cent annual interest penalty.
The court, however, declined the claimant’s request for promotion to the position of deputy inspector general and reinstatement. The court explained that the reliefs could not be granted as the claimant had already reached the mandatory retirement age when the case was pending in May 2018.
According to the facts of the case, Mr Mbu filed the suit against the PSC over his alleged compulsory retirement on July 2, 2016, while serving as the commandant of the Police Staff College.
In his statement, he stated that he was born on May 10, 1958, joined the police on December 11, 1985, and had not reached the mandatory retirement age of 60 or completed 35 years of service at the time of his retirement in 2016.
Mr Mbu had therefore sought, amongst other reliefs, an order of the court to invalidate his retirement, which he claimed was communicated through a press release and was not served statutory notice of retirement.
He also asked for the payment of his salaries, allowances, and other entitlements from July 2016 to 2018, when he would have been due for retirement. In addition, he sought the payment of his terminal benefits, N500 million as general damages, and N20 million as the cost of the suit.
The defendant, in response, argued that Mr Mbu was not retired through a press release but rather through a ceremonial event. The defendant also claimed that promotion within the force is not automatic and that Mr Mbu did not meet certain promotion requirements. The defendant further stated that the reorganisation within the NPF at the time of Mr Mbu’s retirement followed due process and that he was not the only person affected.
In its judgment, the court stated that although the defendant failed to appear in court to present its defence, the claimant still had the burden of proof. The judge emphasised that pleadings were not equivalent to evidence and that the defendant’s absence in court, despite receiving several hearing notices, indicated an abandonment of its case.
Ms Obaseki-Osaghae stated that since the claimant had successfully proven his case based on credible evidence, independent of the defendant’s weaknesses, he was entitled to some of the reliefs sought.