By Adekoya Abayomi Samson
Retired police officers from across Nigeria on Thursday staged a peaceful protest in Abuja, demanding their immediate removal from the Contributory Pension Scheme managed by the National Pension Commission (PENCOM). The protesters, under the aegis of the Concerned Retired Police Officers of Nigeria (CROPON), accused PENCOM of withholding their rightful benefits and called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take urgent action to address what they described as “years of injustice and neglect.”
Clad in black T-shirts and caps, the retirees carried placards with inscriptions such as “We served Nigeria with our lives, don’t abandon us,” “Remove Police from PENCOM now,” and “We deserve better after decades of service.” The officers, who retired between 2015 and 2023, lamented that despite several appeals and petitions to the government, their plight has remained unresolved.
Speaking during the protest, the National Coordinator of CROPON, Retired DSP Ambrose Eke, said the contributory pension system has subjected thousands of retired officers to untold hardship, with many dying without accessing their full benefits.
“We have come here today to tell the Federal Government that enough is enough. We served this country with loyalty, dedication, and sacrifice. Many of us risked our lives fighting crime and protecting citizens, yet in retirement, we are treated as if our lives no longer matter,” Eke said.
He added that the Police Force is a unique institution that should not be treated like other civil service agencies, noting that the old Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) under the Police Pension Board (PPB) worked effectively before the force was moved to the contributory scheme.
“The PENCOM arrangement is unfair to the police. The monthly stipends we receive are not only poor but inconsistent. Many of us get as low as ₦30,000 after serving for 35 years. How can a retired officer survive on that in today’s Nigeria?” he asked.
The protesters appealed to President Tinubu and the National Assembly to expedite the passage of the Police Pension Board Establishment Bill, which seeks to return police officers to the old pension structure.
Retired ASP Mariam Lawal, who also spoke at the protest, said many widows of deceased officers have been abandoned because of bureaucratic bottlenecks within PENCOM.
“When our husbands died in active service, we thought the government would take care of us as promised. But we have been left to suffer. Some widows are still waiting after five years just to receive their late husbands’ benefits. This is inhumane,” she lamented.
Responding to the protest, a senior official at the Pension Commission, who preferred not to be named, assured that the concerns of retired police officers would be reviewed and that the Commission remains committed to ensuring transparency and fairness in pension administration.
Meanwhile, security operatives monitored the demonstration to prevent any breach of peace.
The protesters vowed to continue their peaceful demonstrations until the government takes concrete action to remove the Nigeria Police Force from the PENCOM system, insisting that “justice delayed is justice denied.”
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