Retired police officers on Monday took over the gates of the National Assembly in Abuja to protest the alleged non-payment and irregular disbursement of their pensions and gratuities, describing the current system as starvation and a death sentence.
The protesting ex-officers, some of whom retired as Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs), demanded immediate exit from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and adoption of a more humane retirement plan.
Some of them revealed that after decades of service to the country, they now survive on as little as ₦17,000 to ₦30,000 monthly. “I receive ₦20,000 monthly as a retired ASP, and even that has not been paid for the last nine months,” said ASP Joshua Brutus from Bauchi State. “Many of my colleagues are dying because of this. We were split between pension companies, and I’m under Africa Alliance, which has refused to pay.”
Another officer disclosed he had received only ₦1.4 million in total gratuity after retirement, while one said he gets just ₦22,000 monthly.
One visibly distraught retiree, Ibrahim Magadji, who retired in 2017, said the situation had become unbearable. “I hardly eat once a day with my family. Do they want to kill us all?” he asked. He also criticized the police force for the treatment of bereaved families. “When a policeman dies, the family gets nothing for up to five years. And when they finally approach the force, they are mocked. On a good day, they get just a quarter of what is due and are asked to pay over ₦300,000 to access the rest.”
The protest, which initially held at the National Assembly, took a new turn when the Revolutionary Now Movement, led by activist Omoyele Sowore, joined the demonstration with chants of “Tinubu, Pay police now!” and placards. The authorities had reportedly warned the retirees earlier that the government would not attend to their demands if they allowed any activist group to join them.
Unbothered, Sowore urged the protesters to relocate to the Force Headquarters. “The decision-makers are there. The National Assembly won’t move on this,” he said.
One of the retirees said he travelled to Abuja after his retirement only to discover that both his pension and gratuity totalled slightly above ₦3 million. “This is disgraceful. Other sister agencies are receiving better. The government should look into this,” he said.
The protesters called on the Inspector-General of Police and Tinubu’s administration to immediately withdraw them from the PENCOM scheme and find a more dignified solution.
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