A s reported by The Guardian Newspaper , the National Industrial Court has barred police officers who are not appointed as Legal Officers from performing legal duties in civil matters, and ordered the Nigeria Police Force to deploy qualified lawyers to every police division nationwide. According to the report, the judgment delivered on Saturday in Abuja said the ruling was necessary to strengthen professionalism, protect human rights, and enforce compliance with the Police Act, 2020. The suit, marked NICN/ABJ/264/2025, was filed by the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, through its Section on Public Interest and Development Law, SPIDEL. The respondents were the Police Service Commission, PSC, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Inspector-General of Police, among others. Delivering judgment, the court declared that police officers who are qualified lawyers but have not been appointed or upgraded as Legal Officers cannot perform the duties of Legal Officers. They may only handle criminal prose...