Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Simeon Ajisafe, tells TUNDE OYEKOLA, how he was allegedly dismissed from the Nigeria Police Force 12 years ago for auctioning a dilapidated vehicle belonging to the Force
When did you join the Nigeria Police Force?
I joined the Nigeria Police Force as a constable on April 1, 1986. I later attended the Police Cadet Inspectorate Course in April 1990. In the course of my stay in the Police Force, I served in some states of the federation. They include Lagos, Cross River, Benue, and Kwara states, where I performed my duties diligently and was rewarded with promotion by the Police Service Commission.
What is your Force number?
My Force number is AP NO. 36078.
How old are you?
I’m 57 years old.
Can you recount the circumstances surrounding your compulsory retirement from the Police Force in 2011?
I was serving as Superintendent of Police in the Guma division in Benue State between 2007 and 2008 when I recommended that a Peugeot pickup van which had been rotting at the police station for over nine years be auctioned. I made my recommendation in a written form to the then Commissioner of Police at the Benue State command who also followed all necessary procedures for the auction of the scrap vehicle. He went to the Benue State High Court to secure approval which was granted for the auction to be carried out but there was a petition over the sale of the scrap vehicle. A query was issued to me and it was replied to. I was made to face a disciplinary committee of the Force Disciplinary Board at the force headquarters, but I was not given a fair hearing on the case. Later, in December 2008, I was transferred to Oro Police Station in the Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State where I served as the Divisional Police Officer. I was at the station till 2011 when in June of that year, I was dismissed from the service.
What steps did you take when you were dismissed?
I wrote several petitions to the Inspector General of Police to review my case because I felt that I didn’t do anything to warrant the dismissal and that I was not given a fair hearing during the trial.
Did you get a response?
In 2016, the Police Service Commission wrote a letter to me that the dismissal had been converted to voluntary retirement. I was not satisfied with the decision because I felt cheated that I was not given a fair hearing. I also wrote petitions to the Police Service Commission but all the petitions I wrote even though acknowledged were not attended to by the superior authority in the Police Force.
You filed a case in court on your compulsory retirement from the Force. What is the outcome of the case.?
Yes, I filed a suit at the National Industrial Court, Abuja Division, in 2017 against the Inspector General of Police and the Police Service Commission. The case was heard and judgement was delivered on December 16, 2019. The court said that I was wrongly dismissed and that I should be reinstated to the Police Force.
The court said in the judgment that the processes and procedure culminating in the dismissal and subsequent commuting of the Nigeria Police Force was illegal, unlawful and null and void. It declared that my dismissal from the Nigeria Police Force as contained in the letter of dismissal dated June 14, 2011, and the subsequent order commuting the said dismissal to compulsory retirement via a letter dated March 15, 2016, was null and void. It ordered that I be reinstated without loss of status, years of service, seniority, arrears of outstanding salaries, and benefits, and the cost of this suit was put at N200,000 only. Judgment was entered accordingly.
What happened after the judgment was delivered?
After the judgment was delivered in my favour by the National Industrial Court, I wrote several letters through my lawyer to the Inspector General of Police to reinstate me to the rank I should have been in the Nigeria Police Force and that I should be paid all arrears of my withheld salaries.
In 2021, as a result of my letter to the Police Service Commission to implement the judgment of the court, the PSC in its letter with reference number, PSC/1524/1V/1/8/11, dated July 28, 2021, upheld the court’s decision with a signal with reference number, CH:7370/FS/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.25/124 DTO:281300/07/2021, and on August 17, 2022, there was a follow-up signal from the office of the Force Secretary with reference number, Ap.36078/FS/FHQ/ABJ/T/2 DTO:171840/08/2022, which promoted and upgraded me to my desired rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police with the date of my statutory retirement backdated to April 2021, which coincided with the date of my 35 years in the service of the Force.
Can you tell us about your experience during the period of your dismissal from June 2011 to date?
First, I want to express my appreciation to God who has been sustaining me and my family. I want to also express my appreciation to my wife and children and my entire family during the trying period for their understanding because the experience is not palatable. It was a harrowing experience that I do not pray for even my enemy to have. What can I say or where do I want to start? In summary, even till the present time, we are still suffering in terms of finance, feeding, and meeting our financial obligations, including the payment of school fees for my children, payment of house rent and others. It is not a good experience that one should pass through taking care of the education of one’s children, taking care of my health and that of my family. In fact, I have faced serious financial embarrassment from many individuals, landlords, and dependants, just a few, among myriads of financial challenges. But I thank God for his mercy. If not for God, I wouldn’t be alive today to speak with you.
What are your expectations from the Nigeria Police Force regarding the court judgement and the letters and signals that you got?
I want the payment of the arrears of all my withheld and outstanding salaries, benefits and pension and I shall be grateful if the police can do this as soon as possible. Much as I appreciate the efforts of the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, and the chairman of the Police Service Commission, their clear directive on the payment of my salary arrears and emoluments should be given paramount consideration.
The consequence of not receiving my salary arrears, pension, gratuity, and other entitlements for over 12 years is better imagined than experienced. I humbly urge the IGP to give urgent directives to whoever is holding onto my salary arrears. The managing director of the Nigeria Police Force Pensions Ltd and the director-general of the pension commission are not exempted from these directives, having perfected all required documentation. They should harmonise and pay me my gratuity, pension and arrears of pensions without further delay. This is my save-our-soul appeal to them. Also, I want the police to pay me the sum of N200,000 awarded as a cost by the court.
