Retirement: Nigerian Army Rejects Court Ruling, Upholds 15-Year Minimum Service Rule

The Nigerian Army has dismissed a recent court ruling that declared its 15-year minimum service requirement for voluntary retirement unconstitutional, insisting the policy will remain in force until formally amended.

On September 2, Justice Emmanuel D. Subilim of the National Industrial Court in Abuja delivered judgment in Suit No: NICN/ABJ/25/2025, filed by human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong on behalf of his client, Flight Lieutenant J. A. Akerele. The court held that no member of the Armed Forces could be compelled to serve against their will, describing the 15-year rule as oppressive and a form of “modern-day slavery under the guise of national service.”

Akerele, commissioned in 2013 as a pilot officer, told the court that his request to resign was met with persecution by the Nigerian Air Force. He recounted being abruptly recalled from training in the United States, denied allowances, sidelined from postings, and left stagnated in rank for six years, unlike his colleagues. The court agreed his ordeal highlighted systemic flaws and ruled that personnel have the constitutional right to disengage at any time.

The verdict quickly drew attention across military circles, coinciding with rising protests from retired soldiers over unpaid entitlements and growing frustration among serving officers about stalled promotions and poor welfare.

But the military leadership has made clear it will not immediately comply. Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Markus Kangye, said the Armed Forces would continue to operate under the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service (HTACOS).

“The Armed Forces of Nigeria has a document which refers to our conditions and terms of service. In that document, everything regarding the disengagement of personnel is spelled out. Unless the terms and conditions of service are rewritten, we will still go by what is contained in that document,” Kangye said.

He explained that service obligations vary depending on the mode of entry. Soldiers enlist through depots, cadets train at the Nigerian Defence Academy, graduates join via the Short Service Commission, and professionals such as doctors or lawyers enter through the Direct Short Service scheme. Each category, he stressed, is bound by distinct agreements signed at the point of entry.

The Defence Headquarters’ defiance of the ruling sets the stage for a fresh legal battle between the armed forces and officers hoping to rely on the court’s decision to exit before completing 15 years of service.