EX-MAJOR SUES ARMY OVER ‘UNLAWFUL REDEPLOYMENT’ AFTER RESIGNATION
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By: Sefiu Ajape
A former Nigerian Army officer, Maj. Toye Akinlade (rtd), has filed a suit against the Nigerian Army and two senior officers at the National Industrial Court in Abuja, alleging abuse of office, unlawful redeployment, and continued coercion to serve after he formally resigned from the military.
In the suit, marked NICN/ABJ/379/2025, Akinlade is asking the court to declare that his resignation “took effect upon receipt” and that any “further deployment, discipline, or command exercised over him thereafter was unlawful, tortious, and unconstitutional.”
The respondents named in the suit are the Nigerian Army, Col. Samson O. Okebukola, and Col. D.O. Ehicheoya.
According to court documents obtained by our correspondent, Akinlade said that despite submitting a letter of resignation dated November 11, 2025, to the Chief of Army Staff and relevant authorities, he was allegedly redeployed against his will and subjected to disciplinary measures “without due process.”
He outlined seven questions for determination, including a declaration that his letter of resignation “takes effect from the date it was received by the respondents.”
Akinlade also sought a declaration that a query dated December 12, 2025, issued to him on the directive of the 3rd respondent “has no validity in law, is null and void, and of no legal effect.”
He is challenging a letter of displeasure that imposed military sanctions of reprimand and admonishment “without a Board of Inquiry or Investigation establishing evidence of indictment against the Applicant.”
In an affidavit supporting the suit, Akinlade said that after he complained about the disciplinary letter and sought redress, he was redeployed from Jos to Zaria “contrary to established Army administrative procedures.”
He stated, “That the Applicant, being dissatisfied with the excesses and abuse of official power of the 2nd Respondent without being checked by appropriate superior authority, submitted his letter of resignation.”
The former officer further alleged that “notwithstanding his resignation, he was ordered to report to Basawa, Zaria, and was continuously treated as being in service,” an action he described as unlawful.
He also accused Army authorities of denying him leave to attend to his health after collapsing during duty and being hospitalized. Akinlade claimed that medical tests showed his diastolic blood pressure dropped to 60, adding that “refusal to grant him leave amounted to a tortious act.”
The suit seeks declaratory and consequential reliefs, including a declaration that his resignation “takes effect from the date it was received by the Respondents and the Applicant is deemed resigned from the organization of the 1st Respondent.”
Akinlade is asking the court to order the Nigerian Army to process his pension and entitlements, allow him to retrieve his personal belongings, and pay N50 million in damages for alleged unlawful restriction, trauma, and violation of his rights, as well as N1 million as the cost of filing the suit.
In his written address, he argued that resignation from military service is a constitutional right, stressing that “military service is voluntary and not a form of modern-day slavery.”
He cited Section 306 of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that resignation “shall take effect when the writing signifying the resignation is received by the authority to whom it is addressed.”
Akinlade urged the court to hold that once his resignation was received, the respondents were “estopped from further compelling” him to perform military duties or subjecting him to disciplinary processes.
The National Industrial Court is yet to fix a date for hearing the suit.
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