The judge also ordered the police force, Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Inspector-General of the Federation to deploy “police officers who are legal practitioners to every Police Division in Nigeria to assist with the enforcement of human rights in policing at the Divisions.”
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) has ordered prohibitted lawyers in the Nigeria Police Force who are not appointed as legal officers in the force to stop prosecuting criminal cases.
The judge also ordered the police force, Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Inspector-General of the Federation to deploy “police officers who are legal practitioners to every Police Division in Nigeria to assist with the enforcement of human rights in policing at the Divisions.”
She issued the order citing Section 66(3) of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020, which mandates that there must be at least one police officer in every division who is qualified to practise as a legal practitioner in accordance with the Legal Practitioners Act.
She noted that all serving police officers who are lawyers and have yet to be upgraded to legal officers should stop posing as and performing the functions of legal officers.
The judge gave the order following a suit instituted in September 2025 by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
The association sued the Police Service Commission, the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, the Commissioner of Police (in charge of Legal, Force Headquarters, Abuja), Director, Directorate of Legal Services, Force Headquarters, Abuja, Ohiozoba Ehiede and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
The NBA, through its lawyer, Olukunle Edun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, sought that officers trained in the legal profession be upgraded to the rank of Superintendent of Police and that legal officers and deployment of lawyers in all police divisions of the force.
Opposing the suit, the police force, the IGP, Commissioner of Police argued that it could not promote or upgrade the affected police officers because “promotion to another rank is not automatic but depends on availability of vacancy.”
The PSC also stated that police officers who became lawyers while in service were appointed as General Duty Officers and not as legal officers. Since some did not take permission to further their education, it could not be compelled to promote them because they also did not follow due process.
It also claimed that it “has no knowledge of the professional qualification acquired by the affected police officers.”
Upon hearing the submissions of the parties, the judge stated that the court lacked the power to promote the officers and could not order the PSC to promote officers who did not follow due procedure for promotion in the public service rule.
However, the judge restrained all police officers who have not been upgraded or appointed to legal officers from carrying out the functions and responsibilities of legal officers from the force.
Justification for the rules
Previous cases have offered insights into the reasoning behind the rules that generally bar salaried lawyers from repesenting their organisations in court.
The rules were put in place to ensure professional indepence so that lawyers can provide objective advice without the pressure of being an internal employee.
It also serves as a measure to stop in-house corporate lawyers from operating like external solicitors, which would otherwise deprive independent law firms of legal work.
The professional rules provides an exception to Rule 8(1) allow lawyers employed only as a legal officers in a government department to take up cases in court on behalf of their employers.
