The Nigeria Police Force has alleged before the Federal High Court in Abuja that a criminal charge filed against Deputy Commissioner of Police Simon Lough, SAN, originated from a false petition submitted by a “fictitious” organisation known as Integrity Group, which it claimed was used by former Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun before his alleged forced retirement.
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The allegation was contained in an amended counter-affidavit filed by the Police Service Commission and the Inspector-General of Police in opposition to a suit instituted by Citadel Oracle Concept Limited.
The company is asking the court to compel the PSC and the Nigeria Police Force to release Lough’s service records under the Freedom of Information Act.
In their affidavit, the respondents alleged that the criminal charge against Lough was based on a false petition and had subsequently been overtaken by the judgment of the National Industrial Court in Suit No. NICN/ABJ/28/2025, ACP Chinedu Ambrose Emengaha & Ors. v. Police Service Commission & Ors., delivered on September 30, 2025.
“The purported charge was filed on the basis of a 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,” the affidavit stated.
The police further informed the Federal High Court that appeals arising from the National Industrial Court judgment were unsuccessful.
According to the affidavit, the appeal filed by the first respondent was dismissed, while that of the second respondent was struck out. It added that the judgment was complied with on May 12, 2026.
Despite making the allegations concerning the origin of the charge against Lough, the PSC and the IGP urged the court to dismiss Citadel Oracle Concept Limited’s application, arguing that the company had no legitimate interest in the personnel records of the senior police officer.
The respondents maintained that the applicant had no statutory responsibility to determine when police officers should retire and accused the company of interfering in internal personnel matters outside its mandate.
“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 stated.
They added that neither the PSC nor the Nigeria Police Force requested advice from the company concerning the administration of the Force, the performance of their constitutional duties or the retirement dates of police officers.
The respondents questioned why a private company would seek access to the confidential personnel records of a serving senior police officer.
They also accused the applicant of concentrating on police personnel matters instead of the criminal proceedings involving its 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,” the affidavit stated.
The police added that Lough also knew when he was due to retire from the Force.
They further denied receiving the Freedom of Information requests which Citadel Oracle Concept Limited claimed formed the basis of its court action.
The respondents argued that access to information under the Freedom of Information Act was not absolute and should not be used to intimidate or blackmail public officers.
“The provisions of the Freedom of Information Act are not absolute but qualified and not meant for people to use it to blackmail,” they stated.
According to the police, the PSC and the Force never received any request from the applicant concerning Lough’s records and did not require the company to advise them on the officer’s retirement date.
The respondents also questioned how Citadel Oracle Concept Limited obtained documents purporting to be Lough’s service records, noting that the company had already attached some of the records it was asking the court to compel the police to release.
“The 3rd Respondent’s records which the applicant is applying for in this application have already been exhibited in the further affidavit filed by the applicant, and the applicant did not disclose to this court how it got the record without the order of this honourable court,” the police stated.
The respondents also rejected the company’s claim that Lough had overstayed in the Nigeria Police Force.
Citadel Oracle Concept Limited had reportedly alleged that the senior police officer joined the Force in January 1987 and should have retired in January 2022.
The police described the claim as false, insisting that Lough was appointed as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police on May 1, 2000.
They argued that only the PSC and the Nigeria Police Force possessed the authentic records required to determine 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 affidavit stated.
The police also disputed documents tendered by the company as evidence of Lough’s service history, alleging that they did not originate from the Legal Department of the Nigeria Police Force.
They claimed that the documents were prepared to damage the officer’s reputation and demonstrated what they described as the applicant’s desperation to tarnish his integrity.
The respondents further maintained that no official nominal roll supported the company’s allegation that Lough had served in the Force for 42 years.
They described the claims as false statements made on oath and reiterated that it was not part of the applicant’s business as a company to determine when a police officer should retire.
The police further alleged that Citadel Oracle Concept Limited was attempting to use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain confidential personnel records for a purpose unrelated to public accountability.
According to the respondents, granting the application would allow the company to use the court as a shield in an alleged attempt to blackmail the police prosecutor who handled the criminal case against its managing director.
They therefore urged the Federal High Court to dismiss the application, arguing that the company had no legal basis for demanding Lough’s records and that the dispute concerning his service had already been resolved by the National Industrial Court.
The controversy comes after the Nigeria Police Force directed 475 officers whose retirements were reversed following the National Industrial Court judgment to report for a compulsory six-month induction course at the Police Staff College in Jos.
In a letter dated July 31, 2026, the Force Secretary, Assistant Inspector-General of Police Bode Akinbamilowo, communicated a decision taken by the PSC at its plenary meeting of June 25, 2026, concerning the regularisation of the affected officers’ dates of first appointment.
The officers had previously been retired following a PSC decision taken at its first extraordinary meeting on January 31, 2025, concerning the disputed merger-of-service policy.
Their retirements were later reversed in compliance with the National Industrial Court’s judgment.
The Force subsequently directed zonal commands and commissioners of police to locate and notify the affected officers to report for the induction programme.
The list reportedly covered officers from entrant courses between 1992 and 2012 and ranks ranging from Assistant Inspector-General of Police to Superintendent of Police.
Among those listed were AIG Owohunwa Idowu, AIG Benneth Chinedu Igwe, AIG Uche Ifeanyi Henry and DCP Simon Asamber Lough.
The document listed Lough as a member of the Cadet ASP Course 20/2000, appointed on May 1, 2000, and aged 57 years, one month and 19 days at the time the record was prepared.
The claims concerning Egbetokun, the Integrity Group, Citadel Oracle Concept Limited and the disputed service records form part of the parties’ filings before the court and have not yet been finally determined in the present proceedings.
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