The National Industrial Court, NIC, in Abuja, yesterday struck down a provision in the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers of the Nigerian Armed Forces, HTACOS, which compelled soldiers to serve a minimum of 15 years before being permitted to resign.
Delivering judgement, Justice Emmanuel Subilim ruled that the clause was oppressive and constituted a gross violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The ruling stemmed from a suit, marked NICN/ABJ/25/2025, filed by an aggrieved air force officer, Flight Lieutenant J. A. Akerele.
Akerele, commissioned in 2013 as a pilot officer during the Goodluck Jonathan administration, told the court he had faced “systematic persecution and victimisation” by the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, after seeking to resign.
According to him, the then Chief of Air Staff rejected his resignation and went further to declare him absent without leave (AWOL), issuing a signal for his arrest.
In an affidavit supporting his suit, filed through his counsel, human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong, Akerele narrated that he was selected on merit in July 2013, while a final-year cadet at the Nigerian Defence Academy, to complete his flight training in the United States of America.
“During the course of my studies, allowances were no longer released for about (5) five months and I was abruptly recalled from the course in July 2014, and this led to my loss of seniority in rank, and I was not assigned to any unit for over a year.
“I switched five different career paths as a young officer in the Nigerian Air Force, and during this course, I was never promoted as compared to my course mates, as I spent 6 (six) years on the rank of a flying officer, instead of the standard 4 (four) years.
“I was posted to the National Air Defence Corps, and my specialty was changed to Air Traffic Control and subsequently to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, UAV.
” I began my UAV training in August 2016, but it was terminated as the foreign contractors were not paid according to terms.
“After several months of waiting, my specialty was again changed to the intelligence arm of the air force.
“I was nominated for the intelligence course after serving in Base Services Group, BSG, Lagos from November 2019 to November 2020, but it was later cancelled and I was sent back to the UAV specialty.”
He told the court that the bitter experiences he was subjected to caused him “severe emotional distress, feelings of victimisation, and a lack of sense of direction.”
The claimant insisted that the ordeal adversely affected his mental well-being, saying he was traumatised.
“It was for these reasons and the enduring depression and trauma that I voluntarily resigned and disengaged from the Nigerian Air Force,” he added.
According to the claimant, after his letter for voluntary resignation was received, authorities of NAF subjected him to series of interviews and counselling.
He stated that his commander and the disposal officers who conducted the interviews and counselling sessions, supported his decision and recommended that he be allowed to disengage from service.
However, he told the court that despite the recommendations, the then chief of air staff rejected his letter of disengagement, insisting that he must put in at least 15 years of service before he could be eligible to voluntarily resign.
The claimant told the court that the air force boss, basing his decision on provisions of the HTACOS, ordered his immediate arrest.
