The National Industrial Court in Abuja has ordered the deployment of at least one police lawyer to every police station across the country in line with the Police Act 2020.
Justice O. Y. Anuwe gave the order on Friday while delivering judgment in a suit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association against the Police Service Commission and five others.
The court also barred police officers who are not employed in the Specialist Legal Cadre from representing the Nigeria Police Force in civil proceedings.
It further dismissed a preliminary objection by the PSC challenging the competence of the suit and the locus standi of the NBA to institute the action.
The judgment followed a public interest suit instituted by the NBA, through its Section on Public Interest and Development Law, seeking the interpretation of provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2023, the Police Act 2020 and the Police Force Order 2013 relating to the status and functions of police lawyers.
