176 Retired Immigration Comptrollers Sue Interior Minister, NIS Over Withheld Retirement Benefits
No fewer than 176 retired Comptrollers of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) have dragged the Minister of Interior, the Comptroller-General of Immigration and four other government agencies and officials before the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Abuja, over alleged failure to pay their retirement entitlements.
The retirees, led by Mrs. Abalaka Betty Ajuma, are seeking judicial intervention to compel the authorities to provide benefits they claim are guaranteed under the conditions of service governing the paramilitary agency.
The suit, marked NICN/ABJ/146/2026, was filed through their counsel, Maroof Giwa, before the National Industrial Court in Abuja.
Other defendants in the case include the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB), the Chairman of the Board, and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
The claimants argued that under the Unified and Reviewed Conditions of Service for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Fire Service, Nigeria Immigration Service and Nigeria Prisons Service, 2015, officers who retire on the rank of Comptroller of Immigration are entitled to specific retirement benefits.
According to them, the gazetted conditions of service provide that a retired Comptroller of Immigration should be allocated an official vehicle and the services of five domestic staff on designated salary grades upon retirement.
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The retirees contended that although they retired honourably after attaining the rank of Comptroller, the authorities have allegedly failed to provide them with the stipulated benefits years after their exit from service.
They further maintained that it has long been customary and obligatory for retiring officers on the rank of Comptroller and above to receive official vehicles as part of their retirement package.
“Despite retiring on the qualifying rank of Comptroller of Immigration, the defendants have failed, refused and neglected to provide the claimants with official vehicles or their monetary equivalents,” the suit stated.
The former officers noted that they retired at different times but became immediately entitled to the benefits upon retirement in accordance with the gazetted conditions of service.
They told the court that several reminders and pre-action notices issued through their lawyers failed to yield any positive response from the relevant authorities, prompting the legal action.
Among the reliefs sought, the retirees are asking the court to declare that each of them is entitled to an official vehicle as a retirement benefit under the 2015 Conditions of Service.
They are also seeking a declaration that the alleged refusal of the defendants to provide the benefits is unlawful, wrongful and unconstitutional.
In addition, the claimants want the court to order the defendants to either provide the vehicles or pay each retiree the sum of ₦15 million as the monetary equivalent of the entitlement.
The case has been assigned to Justice Rakiya Haastrup of the National Industrial Court and was adjourned until June 23, 2026, for further proceedings.
By PRNigeria
