Moses Jitoboh, a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police who was compulsorily retired, is demanding damages of N550 million for his mandatory retirement before the age of 60. He has taken his case to the National Industrial Court in Abuja, seeking a declaration that his retirement by the Police Service Commission (PSC) before reaching the age of 60 or completing 35 years in service was wrongful, unconstitutional, and unlawful.
In August, the PSC announced the retirement of Jitoboh and three other officers. The retirements were said to be in accordance with the tradition of the police, which retires senior officers when a junior officer is promoted to prevent ‘status reversal.’
However, Jitoboh strongly disagreed with the PSC’s decision, leading him to file a lawsuit in the industrial court. In addition to seeking reinstatement, he is also demanding damages of N550 million “for the unwarranted embarrassment caused by the purported termination of my employment.” He argues that this action portrayed him as disloyal.
In his statement of claims submitted to the court, Jitoboh contends that his compulsory retirement is a flagrant violation of Rule 020810 of the Public Service Rules and Section 18 (8) of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020. He is further requesting the court to compel the PSC to pay an additional N50 million as the cost of filing the lawsuit.
