Scores of retired police officers under the Contributory Pension Scheme, on Monday, staged a major protest at the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja, demanding immediate removal from the pension arrangement they described as “exploitative and unjust.”
Naijaonpoint reports that the aggrieved retirees, many of them elderly ex-officers, arrived at the complex from the National Assembly, where a similar demonstration was held earlier in the day.
They blocked the main entrance to the Force Headquarters, obstructing vehicular and human movement while vowing not to leave until their demands were addressed.
Efforts by top police officials to restore order proved abortive as the demonstrators refused to budge.
The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Federal Capital Territory, Adewale Ajao, and the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, reportedly engaged the protesting officers in dialogue, pleading with them to vacate the premises.
Despite the appeals, the retirees stood their ground.
Earlier on Monday, the retired police officers had also staged a protest at the entrance of the National Assembly in Abuja.
Armed with placards bearing inscriptions such as “We Deserve Better,” “Say No to Contributory Pension,” and “Police Retirees are Dying in Poverty,” the demonstrators braved the rain, chanting and calling for urgent intervention.
Speaking during the protest, a retired Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP Manir Lawal (retd.), lamented the plight of ex-police personnel under the current pension scheme.