Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore marched to the Police Force Headquarters in Abuja on Monday to protest the terrible welfare and pension conditions that impact both working and retired police officers.
The protest, staged in partnership with the Nigerian Union of Retired Police Officers, requested immediate pension changes and the expulsion of police officers from the Contributory Pension Scheme.
The demonstrators were first denied admission into the Force Headquarters but were later escorted by police personnel to the National Assembly compound.
Demonstrators carried posters with messages such as “Decent Salaries Now”, “End Police Slavery”, “Pensions for Police Officers”, “Dignity for Those in Uniform”, and “CPS is a death sentence”, claiming that the current pension system is unjust and dehumanising.
The retired officers had previously pledged to picket the National Assembly in a renewed call for legislative intervention in what they saw as a long-standing neglect of their welfare.
Speaking at the protest, former Chief Superintendent of Police CSP Manir Lawal (retd) urged the government to remove police retirees from the pension program, which he termed exploitative and unjust.
He said, ”We are here to ask the government to remove us from the CPS. The pension scheme is exploitative and unjust.
“I am 67 years old. Many of us here are in our 60s and 70s. We have served this country faithfully and deserve to retire in dignity. This scheme has impoverished us. It is our right to demand better,” he said.
Despite the downpour, the pensioners refused to leave until the National Assembly’s leadership addressed their concerns.
Security personnel were seen monitoring the rally to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
