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The recent protest by retired police officers over pension scheme underscores the inherent poor welfare system in Nigeria Police Force. There is no denying the fact that Nigeria police officers are among the least paid in the world. They are not even among the best kitted police officers in Africa. Yet, they are expected to do their work with utmost patriotism and due diligence. The corruption in the force can be traced to years of neglect by subsequent administrations in the country. While the top hierarchy of the force is seemingly better treated in terms of welfare, the same cannot be said of the bottom.
It is against this backdrop that retired police officers took to the streets in Abuja and other parts of the country to protest the poor pension and pitiable welfare scheme in the force. They protest against being lumped into the obnoxious and exploitative Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), which left them with pittance. The police force is perhaps the only security agency under the CPS. They want the police to be removed from the CPS. They also protest over abysmal salary in the force and poor living conditions of police personnel. Most of the police barracks in the country are not fit for human habitation.
In Abuja, the retired officers protested at the Louis Edet House, Force Headquarters, and National Assembly Gate, where they expressed their grievances to the police authorities and leadership of the National Assembly, respectively. The protesters maintained that their welfare and dignity had been neglected for too long. They also carried placards with inscriptions like “Scrap Police Contributory Pension Scheme” and “We Need Our Full Gratuity.” The demonstrators called on the government to exit police retirees from the pension scheme because it is not serving their interest. “We have served this country faithfully and deserve to retire in dignity. This scheme has impoverished us. It is our right to demand better welfare after retirement,” they stated.
The protest took place simultaneously in Edo, Plateau, Kwara, Taraba and Cross River states, among others. In Cross River State, the aggrieved retirees marched to the headquarters of the state police command at Diamond Hill where they made demands for enhanced pension scheme and welfare for the police. In Jos, Plateau State, the protesters wielded placards with many. Over 300 retired police officers under the pension scheme in Plateau State took part in the protest. The demonstration showed the retirees’ growing frustration with a failed pension system that had left many destitute after decades of meritorious service to the nation.
The retirees also called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to fast-track the legislative process on the disbursement of the N758 billion pension shortfall owed security agencies, which ought to have been paid since June 2025. Similar reports of the protest resonated in other parts of the country.
Responding to the situation, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, vowed to address the poor welfare of retired police officers, stressing that he was not opposed to their exiting the CPS, if that will solve the problem, Egbetokun is rather worried with the next step after exiting the CPS. Egbetokun also stressed that while past administrations had made efforts to pull the police out of the CPS, the process was beyond the powers of any individual IGP.
The Nigerian Police Force has long agitated for exit from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), citing low remittance. However, the move has been opposed by key stakeholders in the pension sector including Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PFOAN) the National Pension Commission (NPC) and others. The amount retired police officers get under the scheme is determined by their monthly salaries while in active service.
The protest by the retired police officers is ominous. Apart from being a disincentive to those in the service, it is a sign that all is not well with the force. This can explain why the force is no longer attractive to young people. It is shameful that retired police officers protested over pension and welfare matters. It does not speak well of our police force and its future. The poor welfare scheme in the force can explain the general insecurity in the country. The federal government must commence the overhaul of the police force with enhanced welfare scheme and its decentralization.
There is no way poorly paid police officers can guarantee the security of over 200 million Nigerians. The unjust pension scheme in the force can also explain why corruption is rife among serving police personnel. The federal government and police authorities should review the salary structure and welfare of police officers and give them commensurate pension scheme like other security agencies. It is discouraging that the police force does not enjoy pension schemes like other security agencies. A situation where a retired Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) receives N20,000 as pension after serving for 35 years is sad and unacceptable. Therefore, let the welfare and pension of the police be upgraded forthwith.
