Overturning Civil Service Guideline 020909
The defence had looked for to justify the forced retirements by relying on Guideline 020909 of the Public Service Rules, which manages tenure caps for top-tier directorates.
Nevertheless, the court ruled that Area 3 of the 2022 Act explicitly grants teachers an absolute exemption from any civil service policy that mandates retirement before the 65/40 statutory limit.
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Significantly, Justice Anuwe kept in mind that the term “teacher” as codified within the Act explicitly includes designated Education Officers.
“A Teacher or Education Officer, whether he or she got to the post of Director or not, is entitled to retire from service on achieving 65 years of age or 40 years of service,” the judge declared, noting that an eight-year directorial stay is no longer a legitimate retirement condition.
Continuous Injunction Issued Versus Executive Arms
The court even more revealed a major internal contradiction in the federal government’s position, pointing out a 2025 correspondence in which the Workplace of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation had actually formerly acknowledged that the Teachers’ Act lawfully superseded the tenure policy.
Consequently, Justice Anuwe stated the OHCSF circular outdated February 10, 2026, along with the Ministry of Education circulars dated February 24 and 26, 2026, prohibited, null, void, and of no impact.
The court approved a perpetual injunction restraining the Federal Government and the Ministry of Education from enforcing the eight-year period policy against qualified education officers, directing each celebration to bear their particular legal expenses.
The judgment effectively stabilises the senior leadership cadre across federal education departments and firms nationwide.