Moses Ambakina Jitoboh, who was compulsorily retired as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, has dragged the Police Service Commission (PSC) to the National Industrial Court (NIC) in Abuja to ask that his retirement by the Commission before his mandatory 60 years retirement age or 35 years in service was wrong, unconstitutional and unlawful.
According to his statement before the court, Jitoboh claimed that his purported compulsory retirement was a flagrant violation of Rule 020810 of the Public Service Rules and Section 18 (8) of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020,respectively.
Jitoboh and three others, it would be recalled, were retired by the PSC on the ground that it was upholding the police tradition of retiring when a junior Police officer is promoted over his senior to avoid “status reversal.”
Also, the retired DIG is also asking the court for an order directing the PSC to pay the sum of N500,000,000 (500m) as general damages for the unwarranted embarrassment as a result of the purported termination of his employment as he had been portrayed to be a disloyal officer.
He is also asking for another sum of N50, 000, 000.00 (Fifty Million Naira) only as the cost of prosecuting this action.
Jitoboh, in his statement of claims, maintained that he was and remains an officer of the Nigeria Police Force until the 10th day of June, 2029 when he would have attained 35 years in service and duly retire and that he is therefore entitled to his salaries, emoluments and all other paraphernalia of office due to him.
The compulsorily retired DIG is seeking the declaration of the National Industrial Court that pursuant to Section 4 (3) of the Police Service Commission Act, 2001 the defendant (PSC) has no valid Board to take any decision whatsoever purporting to retire or promote any Police Officer as the PSC Board tenure elapsed in July of 2023.
