The National Industrial Court of Nigeria has ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Nigeria Police Service Commission to pay police constabularies about four years of salary arrears owed since 2021.

The Court also directed that each of the constabularies be paid N54,566 per month from January 2021 to May 2024.

Justice Rakiya Haastrup issued the order on Wednesday while delivering judgement in a suit filed by Mr Sebastine Hon, SAN, on behalf of the Constabularies against the IGP and the Police Service Commission.

In addition to the salary payment, the judge also ordered that letters of employment and certificates of engagement be issued to the constabularies, as they had been trained, provided with uniforms and boots, and lawfully deployed to various states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The plaintiffs, who were trained and engaged in community policing through intelligence gathering, had, through their lawyer, sued the police for refusing to pay them their monthly stipends, despite having served the nation diligently for the past four years.

Contrary to the police’s claims that the services of the constabularies were voluntary, the plaintiffs provided documents showing that, at the time of their engagement, the police had agreed to pay them monthly stipends commensurate with the basic allowance of a constable in the Nigeria Police Force.

The constabularies argued that the police’s action in denying them their stipends was not only unlawful but had also put their lives in jeopardy, as they could no longer meet their basic needs.

They urged the court to rule in their favour, stating that, having been lawfully engaged by the police, they were entitled to the monthly stipends in order to perform their duties effectively and diligently.

The Constabularies further claimed that, due to the hazardous nature of their jobs, seven of their members had already died.

In her judgement, Justice Rakiya Haastrup agreed with Sebastine Hon that the plaintiffs have established a contractual employment relationship with the police and held that, based on the agreement, the plaintiffs are entitled to the monthly stipends for their job.

Justice Haastrup, while observing that the exact amount to be paid as stipends was not fixed by the police, however held that the plaintiffs are entitled to the basic allowance of N54,655 monthly, pending when the IGP will fix their monthly allowance.

Additionally, the judge ordered the IGP to fix the amount due to the plaintiffs within two months of the delivery of the judgement.

Similarly, the judge ordered that the constabularies be issued with letters of appointment, having been trained, equipped, issued uniforms and identity cards, and deployed to the states of the federation and the FCT.

Responding to the judgement, counsel to the Constabularies, Sebastine Hon, appealed to President Bola Tinubu to order the IGP to pay the Constabularies because of the services they are rendering to the country. (Nigerian tribune)