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He confirmed that many are left to die in poverty due to years-long delays in pension payments and the failure of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to meet basic living standards.
A former Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Aderemi Adeoye, has decried the dire conditions faced by retired police officers across the country.
He confirmed that many are left to die in poverty due to years-long delays in pension payments and the failure of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to meet basic living standards.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television, Adeoye described the ongoing protests by retired police personnel as a genuine outcry from a neglected and dejected segment of Nigeria’s security community.
“The Contributory Pension Scheme does not meet the aspiration and the minimum expected standard of living for one who has served this country for at least 35 years. That is a lifetime,” Adeoye said.
“Most of these retired officers, policing is all they know. They have no secondary skills or professions to fall back on.”
Highlighting the inefficiencies in the pension disbursement process, Adeoye said even officers who retire at the highest levels face prolonged periods of financial uncertainty.
“After retirement, even as a Commissioner of Police, you have to wait for about two years before you get your benefits. From the rank of commissioner downwards, your salary is stopped the very day you retire,” he said.
“For those two years, nobody cares how you feed, buy medication, pay school fees, or even where you live. Within that period, many retired officers die off. That is the reality.”
Adeoye lamented the piecemeal disbursement of entitlements, explaining that retirees often receive only a portion of their gratuity up front, while the remainder is spread out over monthly pensions.
“The amount is so paltry. A retired commissioner of police used to earn about N87,000 as a monthly pension until recently, when the president ordered an increment. Now, they get about N100,000. I retired over a year ago and haven’t received mine yet.”
Addressing the recent nationwide protests by retired police officers, Adeoye said the demonstrations are only a small glimpse into the wider discontent within the retired force.
“Those you see on television are a microcosm, a very small, insignificant, infinitesimal number of the population of police retirees,” he said.
“Every retiree from the rank of commissioner of police downwards is affected.”
On the Inspector-General of Police’s recent meeting with leaders of the protesting retirees, Adeoye acknowledged that the IGP appeared genuinely concerned, though constrained by systemic challenges.
“The problem was not his creation; it had existed before he came into office. He has been rubbing minds with officers to find a solution,” Adeoye said.
“Initially, he wasn’t in support of exiting the CPS. His question was: ‘Exit to where?’ The answer is: to wherever the military, DSS, and NIA exited.”
Comparing pensions across security agencies, he added, “An army captain, equivalent to a deputy superintendent of police, earns about N300,000 monthly. But a commissioner of police gets less than N100,000. That’s injustice.”
He noted that a bill to establish a Nigerian Police Force Pension Board is before the House of Representatives and has advanced to the Committee of the Whole.
Adeoye welcomed the IGP’s intention to internally augment police pensions but stressed the need for action rather than words.
“The pronouncement is not the desired result; it is implementation. The devil is in the details. When that is implemented, it will give relief to a lot of police retirees, many of whom currently die before their time,” he said.
Urging peaceful conduct among protesting officers, Adeoye appealed for restraint and unity.
“They must not do anything that will allow miscreants to hijack the protests. They must remain law-abiding and peaceful,” he said.
“We must have confidence in the leadership, both of the country and the force, to resolve the problem.
“When hope is lost, all is lost. We must keep hope alive, and better days shall come.”
SAHARA REPORTERS
