Court Of Appeal Nullifies Chief Magistrate Etti’s Forced Retirement, Affirms Lagos Magistrates Are Not Bound By Public Service Rules

*Orders Full Compensation for Unlawfully Retired Magistrate

The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, on February 7, 2025, upheld the judgment of the National Industrial Court (NIC), declaring the compulsory retirement of Chief Magistrate Murziq Abodunrin Etti by the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission (LSJSC) unlawful.

The appellate court affirmed that the retirement violated the Magistrates’ Court Law of Lagos State, 2009, emphasizing that magistrates are governed by this specific law rather than the general Lagos State Public Service Rules.

The court upheld the decision of the National Industrial Court (NIC), which had earlier ruled in favour of the respondent, Chief Magistrate Murziq Abodunrin Etti, stating that his retirement was in violation of the Magistrates’ Court Law of Lagos State, 2009.

The case which commences in 2018, stemmed from the compulsory retirement of the respondent by the LSJSC on November 21, 2017. The LSJSC had cited Rule 020709 of the Lagos State Public Service Rules, which mandates retirement at the age of 60 or 35 years of service, whichever comes first. However, the respondent argued that his retirement was governed by Section 10 of the Magistrates’ Court Law of Lagos State, 2009 which sets the retirement age for magistrates at 60 years, with no provision for compulsory retirement after 35 years of service.

The National Industrial Court in its judgment delivered on September 30, 2020, ruled in favor of the respondent, declaring his retirement null and void. The court also ordered his reinstatement and awarded him N500,000 in damages. Dissatisfied with the ruling, the LSJSC filed an appeal, challenging the jurisdiction of the trial court and the applicability of the Magistrates’ Court Law over the Public Service Rules.

In a unanimous decision, the three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Folasade Ayodeji Ojo (with Justice Abdulazeez M. Anka delivering the leading judgment) dismissed the appeal and affirmed the judgment of the lower court.

The court held that the Magistrates’ Court Law, being a specific enactment, overrides the general provisions of the Lagos State Public Service Rules. The court also ruled that the respondent, having been elevated to the magistracy was no longer subject to the Public Service Rules but to the Magistrates’ Court Law.

Justice Anka, in his leading judgment, stated:
“The fact before the court remains that the respondent, who used to be under the general provisions of the Public Service Rules, changed his cadre to the magistracy and is therefore subject to the Magistrates’ Court Law of Lagos, which is the specific legislation affecting the respondent’s position in office.”

The court further held that the respondent’s cause of action was not statute-barred, as he had complied with the necessary pre-action notice requirements and filed his suit within the stipulated time frame. The court also dismissed the appellants’ argument that the respondent’s suit was incompetent due to the failure to serve a fresh pre-action notice before filing the subsequent suit.

While the court affirmed the respondent’s retirement as wrongful, it noted that the respondent, having been born on January 15, 1965, had already attained the retirement age of 60 as of January 2025.

Consequently, the court ordered that the respondent’s entitlements be computed from November 2017 until his retirement date, without loss of income or promotion. Additionally, the court awarded the respondent N500,000 in damages and N1,000,000 in costs against the appellants.