President Bola Tinubu has acknowledged that Nigerian police officers are grossly underpaid and has pledged to address the inadequacies in their pension arrangements. This revelation was made by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, during an interactive session with retired police officers and stakeholders of the Nigeria Police Pensions at the Police Resource Centre in Jabi, Abuja.
Egbetokun disclosed that a proposal for a comprehensive pension reform had been submitted to the President, emphasizing the urgent need for improved earnings for retired police personnel. He noted that during a recent meeting, Tinubu agreed that retired officers deserved better financial security.
“I sent the template to Mr. President, seeking his intervention to secure adequate government funding that would significantly enhance police earnings. He agreed with me. He acknowledged that police salaries and pensions are insufficient and assured us that action would be taken. We have requested a specific yearly intervention fund to improve police welfare,” Egbetokun stated.
The IGP further revealed that Tinubu had instructed his team to review the financial implications of the proposed reforms, with expectations of a favorable outcome.
Meanwhile, human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has intensified calls for police welfare reforms, leading the ‘Egbetokun Must Go’ protest at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The protest came after Sowore was granted bail at ₦10 million with one surety of the same amount and a requirement to surrender his passport. He was accused of referring to Egbetokun as the “illegal IGP.”
Speaking to a crowd of protesters, Sowore reaffirmed his stance against oppression, insisting that Nigerian police officers deserve better working conditions, housing, quality education for their children, and salaries that reflect their critical role in national security.
“If it takes a nationwide protest to demand justice for police officers, we are ready. This is not about patronizing them—it’s about recognizing that as employees of the Federal Government, they deserve dignified treatment. A banker they protect earns more than them, yet without the police, banks wouldn’t even open,” Sowore declared.
He further exposed the dire conditions under which police officers operate, highlighting the financial constraints imposed on divisional police officers (DPOs).
“A DPO commanding 500 men gets only ₦30,000 per quarter to manage an entire station. To fuel patrol vehicles, buy stationery, or run basic operations, they are left with no choice but to resort to extortion. In some cases, the elites order them to shoot civilians, and when they do, the victim’s family is forced to buy medicine for the officer who isn’t even injured,” he said.
Sowore condemned the exploitative pension system, describing it as a tool that forces officers into desperate survival tactics.
“The same system that underpays them in active service denies them dignity in retirement. That is why some officers pressure their colleagues to ‘take their pension before retirement’—a euphemism for corrupt practices before leaving the force,” he added.
With Tinubu’s pledge to review police pensions and rising public outcry over their poor remuneration, pressure is mounting on the federal government to take swift action. Whether these promises will translate into tangible reforms remains to be seen.
PIONEER NEWS 