Court orders IGP, PSC to pay police constabularies four-year salary arrears

The national industrial high court in Abuja has ordered the inspector-general of police (IGP) and the Nigeria Police Service Commission (PSC) to pay police constabularies salary arrears owed since 2021.

Giving the ruling on Wednesday, Rakiya Haastrup, the presiding judge, ordered that each of the constables be paid N54,566 per month from January 2021 to May 2024.

The judge also ordered that the constabularies, having been trained, equipped, issued uniforms and identity cards, and deployed across the states and the federal capital territory (FCT), be given formal letters of appointment.

The plaintiffs, through their lawyer, Sebastine Hon, had sued the police for refusing to pay them their monthly stipends despite making them serve the nation for the past four years.

Although police authorities claimed that the service of the constabularies was voluntary, the plaintiffs tendered documents showing that at the time of their engagement, the force had agreed to give them monthly stipends commensurate to the basic allowance of a constable in the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

The constables told the court that denying them their stipends was not only unlawful but had put their lives in jeopardy as they could no longer meet up with basic needs.

They claimed that seven officers amongst them died due to the hazardous nature of the job.

In her judgment, Haastrup agreed with the lawyer that the plaintiffs established a contractual agreement of employment relationship between them and the police.

The judge held that based on the agreement, the plaintiffs are entitled to monthly stipends for their jobs.

Haastrup ruled that while the exact amount of stipends for the plaintiffs had not been determined by the police, they were entitled to a basic monthly allowance of N54,655 until the IGP set a fixed amount.

The judge further directed the IGP to determine and finalise the plaintiffs’ monthly allowance within two months of the judgment.