Nigerian Police protest poor retirement pay

As contained in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), there is disquiet in the Police over the retirement package.

Serving and retired Police officers and men are grumbling about a grim future as a result of low retirement benefits. It is also below their peers’ standards.

Affected officers are now pleading with the National Assembly to exit the Police from the CPS policy as it is the case with the military and the Department of State Services (DSS).

The source, according to some documents submitted to committees of the House of Representatives last week, the police expressed regret that the monthly take-home (pension) of a retired Inspector-General of Police under the CPS is N100,000.23

Breaking down the monthly pension stipends of other officers, after 35 years in service, is as follows: Deputy Inspector-General of Police(N89,456.12); Assistant Inspector-General of Police(N82,367.47); Commissioner of Police(N70,269.96); Deputy Commissioner of Police (N61, 526.32); Assistant Commissioner of Police(N49, 300.26); Chief Superintendent of Police(N42, 563.23).

Others are Superintendent of Police(N37,528.36); Deputy Superintendent of Police(N31,600.12); Assistant Superintendent of Police 1(N28,000.02); ASP11(N25.100.26); and Inspector(N15,280.12).

One of the documents obtained gave insights into the agitations of serving and retired police officers.

As claimed by the officers, in the memo to the lawmakers, said: “Arising from the fact that serving and retired Police Officers (hereinafter referred to as Police Officers) are dissatisfied with the retirement benefits applicable to them under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) coupled with the reality that the Armed Forces and the Directorate of State Service have been allowed to exit from the Scheme, there has been a sustained agitation by Police officers seeking to be accorded the same privilege.

“By the express provision of Section 4 of the Police Act, the Nigeria Police is charged amongst others, with the responsibility of performing such military duties within and outside Nigeria as may be required of them by or under the authority of this or any other Act.

“By this provision, the Nigeria Police is the only para-military organisation in Nigeria recognized as such by law. This fact is buttressed by the deployment of police officers, not too long ago, to the theatre of insurgency in the Northeast by the erstwhile Inspector-General of Police, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris, NPM, mni.

“Furthermore, the exploits of the Nigeria Police in peace keeping all over the world in conjunction with the Nigerian military eloquently and profoundly attest to this claim and the unique role of the Nigeria Police.

“There is no gainsaying the fact that there is no civil establishment in Nigeria saddled with such military responsibility other than the Nigeria Police.”