After their tenure was reviewed by a disciplinary commission, more than 340 officers from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) are said to have decided to retire.
It was stated that this decision was made prior to the committee’s final report being submitted by Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).
The Force Management assisted the committee in the screening process, which took place at the Force’s headquarters in Louis Edet House, Abuja, between Monday and Tuesday.
It is yet unknown whether possible punishments had any bearing on the officials’ decisions to retire, although sources close to the committee attested to their departure.
These officers had reportedly neglected to carry out their retirement plans, which were due, even though many of them were over 60 or had served for more than 35 years.
Benneth Igweh, the Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) in charge of Zone 7, two Commissioners of Police, and a top police lawyer were among those called for review.
It was verified, according to The Nation, that AIG Igweh had formally transferred his duties to Mohammed Gumel, his replacement.
For a variety of reasons, including moving from rank-and-file to senior officer roles without completing the required training at the police school, the committee concentrated on officers who were expected to have retired since 2020 but had not.
Over 340 officers had submitted their retirements, and the committee had finished its examination by Tuesday, according to a source with knowledge of the screening procedure.
Numerous individuals are senior officers. Last year, those who knew they were meant to go went as well. I don’t know if anyone was disciplined.
Those who were permitted to participate in the officer screening process were the committee and the force management team.
From 2020 onwards, those individuals were expected to have retired. Although they did not change their age, the majority of them did not attend the police school and instead transferred from rank and file to senior officers.
Resigning as an officer in the rank and file is a requirement if you wish to advance to the position of senior officer. However, the majority didn’t. They were using the two levels for operations.
The insider said, “They have retirement ages as constables and as senior officers or commissioned officers.”
In addition, the Police Service Commission (PSC) had previously mandated that senior officers who had turned 60 or served more than 35 years be immediately retired.
After a previous plenary meeting in 2017, which resulted in a reform of the retirement standards, the decision was reviewed, according to Ikechukwu Ani, PSC’s Head of Press and Public Relations.
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After its meeting on January 31, 2025, the PSC released a statement confirming that the policy went against previous regulations and now mandated that all officials who met the age or service standards retire right away.
The Inspector-General of Police was informed of the decision so that he might take action.
Although some questioned the timing of these retirements in light of President Bola Tinubu’s decision to extend IGP Egbetokun’s tenure, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Attorney-General of the Federation, stressed that the President’s actions were within the law.