The Nigeria Police Force has alleged before the Federal High Court in Abuja that a criminal charge against Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Simon Lough (SAN) was initiated following a petition from a “fictitious integrity group” used by former Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun before his “forced retirement” from office.
The allegation was contained in an amended counter-affidavit filed by the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) in response to a suit instituted by Citadel Oracle Concept Limited at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
In the affidavit, the police stated that, contrary to the claims made by the applicant, “The purported charge was filed on basis of false petition submitted by a fictitious group, Integrity Group, initially being used by the former IGP Kayode Egbetokun before his forceful retirement by the President, and the charge has been overtaken by the judgment of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria in Suit No. NICN/ABJ/28/2025 between ACP Chinedu Ambrose Emengaha & Ors Vs Police Service Commission & Ors, delivered on the 30th September, 2025.”
The respondents further informed the court that appeals arising from the National Industrial Court judgment had failed.
According to the affidavit, “The Appeal filed against the judgment by the 1st Respondent was dismissed while that of the 2nd Respondent was struck out. The decision of the court has been complied with on the 12th May 2026.”
The counter-affidavit was part of the police’s opposition to an application brought by Citadel Oracle Concept Limited seeking an order compelling the Police Service Commission and the Nigeria Police Force to release Lough’s service records under the Freedom of Information Act.
The police, however, urged the court to dismiss the application, arguing that the company has no legitimate interest in the personnel records of the senior police officer.
The police stated that the applicant has no role in determining when police officers should retire and accused the company of interfering in matters outside its statutory responsibility.
According to the police, “The 1st and 2nd Respondents did not need the guide or services of the applicant, who has no business with the operation and Rules of the Nigeria Police Force to seek to guide the 1st and 2nd Respondents in the handling of the affairs of its personnel.”
The police added that they never sought any advice from the company regarding the administration and performance of their constitutional and statutory duties and personnel of the Force.
The police further questioned why a private company would seek access to the personnel records of a serving police officer.
The police accused the company of focusing on police personnel matters instead of the legal troubles of its own Managing Director, Benjamin Joseph.
“The Applicant ought to have guided its managing director who was standing trial before the FCT High Court and not the 1st and 2nd Respondents because the 1st and 2nd Respondents have the records of their officers and know when they are due to retire, and the officers, including the 3rd Respondent, also know when he is due to retire from the Nigeria Police Force,” the police stated.
The police also denied receiving the Freedom of Information requests which Citadel Oracle Concept Limited claimed formed the basis of the lawsuit.
The police argued that the Freedom of Information Act was never intended to be used as a tool for blackmail.
“The provisions of the Freedom of Information Act are not absolute but qualified and not meant for people to use it to blackmail,” the police stated.
According to the police, “The 1st and 2nd Respondents never received any letter of request from the Applicant, and the 1st and 2nd Respondents have the record of the 3rd Respondent and know when he is due to retire and do not need the Applicant to guide them on when the 3rd Respondent is due to retire from the Nigeria Police Force.”
The police further questioned how the Applicant obtained Lough’s records, noting that the same records had already been attached to documents filed by the company before the court.
“The 3rd Respondent’s records which the Applicant is applying for in this application has already been exhibited in the further affidavit filed by the Applicant, and the Applicant did not disclose to this court how he got the record without the order of this honourable court,” the police stated.
The police also rejected allegations that Lough has overstayed in service, noting that Citadel Oracle Concept Limited had claimed that the senior officer joined the Nigeria Police Force in January 1987 and ought to have retired in January 2022.
Describing the claims as false, the police insisted that Lough was appointed as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) on May 1, 2000, and that only the Police Service Commission and the Nigeria Police Force possess the official records determining an officer’s appointment date and retirement timeline.
“The Applicant is not the employer of the 3rd Respondent and cannot state when the 3rd Respondent joined the Nigeria Police Force and when he is due to retire,” the police argued.
The police also dismissed documents tendered by the applicant purporting to show Lough’s service records, alleging that the documents did not originate from the legal department of the Nigeria Police Force.
The police accused the applicant of fabricating them to damage the officer’s reputation, describing the documents as “prepared by the Applicant to malign the 3rd Respondent” and evidence of “desperation” to tarnish his integrity.
The police further alleged that no official nominal roll existed supporting the applicant’s claim that Lough had served in the Nigeria Police Force for 42 years.
According to the police, the allegations amounted to falsehoods made on oath, arguing that Citadel Oracle Concept Limited had no legal responsibility to advise the Nigeria Police Force on personnel matters.
“It is not part of the Applicant’s mandate or business as a company to tell the 1st and 2nd Respondents when a police officer is to retire,” the police stated.
The police further claimed that the applicant had already obtained the service records it was asking the court to compel the police to release.
The police further accused the applicant of attempting to use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain confidential personnel records for purposes unrelated to public accountability.
According to the police, allowing the application would effectively enable Citadel Oracle Concept Limited to use the court “as a shield” while pursuing what it described as an attempt to blackmail the police prosecutor who handled the criminal case against its managing director.
The police urged the court to dismiss the application, insisting that the applicant has no legal basis for demanding the records and that the issues raised regarding the senior officer’s service have already been settled by the National Industrial Court.
It was earlier reported on Sunday that the Nigeria Police Force had directed 475 officers who were previously retired over a disputed “merger of service” policy to report for a compulsory six-month induction course at the Police Staff College, Jos, following a court judgment that reversed their retirements.
In a confidential letter dated July 31, 2026, addressed to Assistant Inspectors-General of Police across the country’s 17 zones, the Commandant of the Police Staff College, Jos, and Commissioners of Police in all states, the Force Secretary, AIG Bode Akinbamilowo, forwarded a decision of the Police Service Commission (PSC) taken at its plenary meeting of June 25, 2026, on the regularisation of the affected officers’ dates of first appointment.
According to the letter, the officers were among those retired pursuant to a PSC decision at its 1st Extraordinary Meeting held on January 31, 2025, on the merger of service. Their retirements were subsequently reversed in compliance with a judgment of the National Industrial Court in Suit No. NICN/ABJ/28/2025.
Akinbamilowo, writing for the Inspector-General of Police, directed zonal commands and state police commissioners to “locate and warn” the affected officers to report at the Police Staff College, Jos, for the six-month induction course.
The affected officers span multiple entrant courses dating back to 1992 through 2012, and cut across ranks from Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) down to Superintendent of Police (SP). Among the most senior officers named on the list are: Owohunwa Idowu, AIG (AP/No 50645), from Force Entrants Cadet ASP Course 19/1996, appointed 15 August 1996; Benneth Chinedu Igwe, AIG (AP/No 50703), also from Course 19/1996, appointed 15 August 1996; Uche Ifeanyi Henry, AIG (AP/No 57903), from Force Entrants Cadet ASP Course 20/2000, appointed 1 May 2000; and Simon Asamber Lough, DCP (AP/No 57917), also from Course 20/2000, appointed 1 May 2000.
According to the document, Lough’s age was listed as 57 years, one month and 19 days.
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