The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has raised concerns over the plight of retired officers under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
The Police boss said many of the retired police officers were in humiliating conditions, adding that the hardship has instilled fear and anxiety among serving officers, weakening morale across the ranks.
Egbetokun stated this during a meeting with senior police officers in Abuja following a protest by retired police officers who lamented their poor treatment and humiliating pension payments On July 21, 2025.
During the protest, they demanded to be removed from the Contributory Pension Scheme, which they claimed had been shortchanging them.
Egbetokun, while speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, said the living conditions of retired officers were unacceptable, given the sacrifices they made in service.
“Today, most retired officers of the Nigerian Police Force live in conditions that are not only unacceptable, but humiliating, given the sacrifices they made in service to the nation.
“Their monthly pension under the CPS is maximally low and roughly inadequate to meet even the most basic needs. Many can no longer afford health care, housing, or a life of dignity,” Egbetokun said.
He added, “One area I remain deeply committed to is the welfare of our retired officers under the Contributory Pensions Scheme. Their post-service condition is heartbreaking and morally unacceptable.
“This has turned retirement into a period of hardship and regret, eroding the confidence of serving officers, who now see their future with fear rather than hope.”
Egbetokun said the poor state of retirees was affecting the morale of serving officers.
“Among serving officers, there exists a growing and deep-rooted anxiety, born from the belief, rightly or wrongly, that retirement is a descent into hardship.
“This fear has become so pervasive that it is having a noticeable demoralising effect on morale across ranks,” he said.
He added that while the police leadership supported exiting the scheme, decisions must be guided by “prudence and strategy” to avoid future pitfalls.
Egbetokun noted that efforts to sensitise officers about the CPS had been misunderstood.
“Attempts made to educate them on the operation of the Contributory Pensions Scheme have been taken as attempts to keep them in perpetual bondage of the CPS,” he said.
The police boss said the leadership had initiated efforts to augment the pension of retired officers and had presented its position to the National Assembly during the public hearing of the bill seeking to exempt the police from the scheme.
He said, “This stance was further reinforced in my recent letter to the National Assembly.
“While the agitation for our exit from the Contributory Pensions Scheme is just and deeply rooted in lived realities, it is imperative that our actions are guided by prudence and strategy.”
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