The Police Service Commission (PSC) has announced the immediate retirement of senior police officers who are either over the age of 60 or have served for more than 35 years.
This decision follows an extraordinary meeting of the PSC’s management board, held on Friday, and was confirmed in a statement issued by the commission’s spokesperson, Ikechukwu Ani.
According to the statement, the PSC also revisited and reversed a previous decision from September 2017, which allowed force entrants to have their date of appointment within the force rather than the date of enlistment.
The commission concluded that this decision contradicted the Public Service Rule No. 020908 (i&ii), which mandates that civil servants must retire upon reaching 35 years of service or the age of 60.
The PSC emphasised that this new directive aligns with established public service rules and ensures compliance with retirement age and service duration policies.
The decision has been formally communicated to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun.
In the statement, the PSC clarified, “The Police Service Commission rose from its first extraordinary meeting with the approval for the immediate retirement of senior police officers who have exceeded 35 years in service or are above 60 years of age.”
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The commission also took the opportunity to address the controversial decision made in 2017, which had allowed force entrants to count their date of appointment within the force as their official start date. The PSC acknowledged that this policy contradicted the public service principle of service merging and violated established retirement rules.
This decision comes amid ongoing debates surrounding the tenure of IGP Egbetokun, whose term extension has sparked legal and political discussions.
On Thursday, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, affirmed that Egbetokun’s continued stay in office was lawful.
Egbetokun, appointed as IGP by President Bola Tinubu on June 19, 2023, and confirmed by the National Police Council on October 31, 2023, is set to serve a four-year term, despite approaching the retirement age of 60 in September 2024. A recent amendment to the Police Act, passed by the National Assembly, seeks to extend his tenure until the end of his appointed term.
Section 18(8) of the Police Act 2020 requires that police officers either retire after 35 years of service or upon reaching 60 years of age.
However, the new bill passed in July 2024 allows for the IGP to remain in office beyond the standard retirement age, creating a legal clash as the debates over tenure and retirement policies continue.
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