Retired and serving personnel of the Nigeria Police Force have criticised pension fund operators over claims that the Federal Government would require about ₦7 trillion to fund police pensions if the Force is allowed to exit the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS.
The officers said the claim, attributed to the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria, PenOp, was misleading and designed to scare the government into retaining the police in a scheme they described as unjust and unsuitable for policing duties.
Police retirees, who have repeatedly staged protests in major cities across the country, said their agitation reflects deep dissatisfaction with the CPS and its impact on their welfare in retirement.
PenOp had recently placed advertorials in national newspapers warning that allowing the police to opt out of the CPS would impose a huge financial burden on the Federal Government.
Reacting in a joint statement, the retired officers dismissed the warning as baseless, describing it as “a recurring and pernicious propaganda that prioritises fiscal arithmetic over justice, equity and national security”.
They challenged the pension operators to provide credible statistics to justify the ₦7 trillion figure, insisting that police retirement benefits should not be presented as the pillars of Nigeria’s economy.
The statement was signed by the National Coordinator, SP Christopher Effiong (rtd); National Legal Adviser, DSP Elder Ofem O. Mbang, Esq (rtd); General Secretary, ASP El-Nathan Jareh; ACP Bright Kakada, JP (rtd); and 21 other retired officers.
According to them, portraying the issue solely as a fiscal burden is misleading and ignores the peculiar realities of policing, which expose officers daily to death, injury and psychological trauma.
They warned pension operators against usurping the roles of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria, noting that only those institutions are constitutionally empowered to shape fiscal and monetary policy.
The officers argued that the CPS is incompatible with the nature of police work and that pursuing fiscal sustainability at the expense of police welfare, morale and effectiveness is dangerous for internal security.
They also condemned what they described as the selective and discriminatory retention of the police in the CPS, pointing out that other security agencies, National Assembly workers and some state employees operate pension systems outside the scheme.
Describing security as an investment rather than an expense, the retirees said the economic cost of insecurity—ranging from banditry and kidnapping to terrorism and vandalism—already far outweighs any pension liability.
They rejected claims that not all police officers want to exit the CPS, insisting that both serving and retired personnel share a common position against the scheme, which they said was imposed retrospectively without due democratic process.
The retirees further criticised PenOp over alleged opaque investment practices involving pension funds, arguing that returns on such investments have not reflected in the welfare of pensioners.
They concluded by calling for a total exit of the Nigeria Police Force from the CPS and the establishment of a Police Pension Board, warning that retaining the police alone in what they termed an “obnoxious and toxic” scheme amounts to policy hypocrisy that could undermine national security.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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