'No money, no food, I no fit waka' - Tori of retired Nigeria police officers

"I don spend at least 25 million naira ontop dis sickness, police no give me shishi. From Reddington Hospital to Lasuth, den Duchess and National Orthopedic hospital Lagos to st Nicholas, now na for traditional orthopaedic hospital I dey for Ikorodu".

Dat na tori of retired Nigeria police officers DSP Adegbehin Adetarami ontop im sick bed for Lagos state southwest of Nigeria.

Adetarami na just one out of many retired police officers wey get one or two complaints against di Nigeria police and di pesion system for di kontri.

Nigeria retired police officers bin hold major protest for July 2025 sake of wetin dem describe as poor treatment wey dem dey receive from Nigeria police since dem retire from active service.

Some of dem begin do viral videos wey dey trend for social media wia dem dey highlight di pain dem dey go through afta serving dia kontri for 35 years.

BBC News Pidgin decide to chook eye into wetin dia problem be and to listen to di tori of some of dis retired officers wey bin put dia lives in front to defend dia kontri.

Adetarami case dey peculiar as e tell BBC News Pidgin say im don dey for sick bed from di days of im retirement from Nigeria Police till date sake of life threatening injury wey im get from accident while im still dey active service.

"Di accident give me cut for my neck wey touch my spinal cord, since den na from one hospital to anoda and yet I never still get myself" na so e tok.

Adetarami say di accident happun for 2017 wen im dey go attend one police function for Abuja, but add say all im treatment police no help am nor support am.

E dey nurse di injury and still dey work till 2021 wen im retire from service.

According to am, afta retirement, im situation go very bad sotay na for hospital im dey live now.

E say "I no fit stand up, no fit walk, no fit do anytin, na just on bed I dey stay. I get four pikins, two of dem do drop from school. Di house wey i inherit from my family I don sale am to pay hospital bills.

Afta retirement e say e take di authorities two years before dem pay im gratuity wey dey a little above two million naira ($1,298). Im monthly pension na just 47,000 naira ($30) monthly.

some oda retired police officers also follow us tok dia mind.

'Afta 35 years of service I still dey borrow to chop' - DSP Iliyasu Aliyu

Retired Deputy Superintendent of Police DSP Iliyasu Aliyu wey retire from service for 2019 after 35 years say "I serve Nigeria police for 35 years. Wen I retire, I stay 8 months without any payment. Na borrow I bin dey borrow moni to manage my family".

DSP Iliyasu Aliyu narrate how im dey pass through tough times along side im colleagues since dem retire.

E say di house wey im dey leave now, na squatting im dey squat with im family as dem no fit afford rent.

According to am na after eight months dem begin pay im pension of 35,000 naira ($25) monthly for pesin wey bin dey rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police DSP.

"Dem call me, show me say wetin I get for dia records na 5million naira, but say dem go pay me two million naira (gratuity) and go manage di remaining money for me and go dey pay me pension monthly" na so e tok.

E say im bin refuse to sign di document dem give am, e ask dem weda him no fit manage di remaining moni by imsef? But wen im remember di pipo wey im borrow moni from since 8months, e sign and collect di 2 million and begin pay im gbese.

E accuse di police pension managers say dem dey use retired police officers moni dey trade business and dey chop di returns alone, dey leave large.

"Workers for di pension office dey earn over one million naira per month" na wetin e tok.

According to am, plenti of di retirees dey die without getting dia due retirement benefits.

'Wetin 32,000 naira ($21) fit do'

"I no marry on time, I still get children for primary and secondary schools, how I wan feed dem".

Dis na wetin anoda police officer wey serve im father land for 35-years-old tell us.

DSP Jonah Inyayang say "35,000 naira no fit buy half bag of rice or quarter bag of garri, not to talk of paying children school plus oda tins".

"My lump sum na 1.4 million naira ($909), wetin I fit use dat kain moni do, life no dey easy for me" na so e tok

Retired Superintendent of Police SP Umar Ibrahim wey base for Nasarawa state say dem want make di authorities comot dem from di pension managers payroll and give dem all dia moni to manage by demsefs

E say to dem "Pencom na death penalty for dem. Our pipo dey sick from plenti sickness cos we no get moni to buy medication. We want make dem pay us as dem dey pay our counterparts for oda security agencies".

Anoda Retired Deputy Superintendent of Police DSP Roselyn Okoronkwo wey dey stay for Bauchi say she join police for 1988 at a young age of 19 and retire for 2023. After 35 years of service, she say her pension no fit do anytin for house for her.

"E no dey easy, thank God say I get husband wey dey support me, odawise I no know how I for manage my family wit 57,000 Naira monthly pension" na so she tok.

How di Nigeria Pension System dey work

Before 2004, Nigeria bin dey use di Defined Benefit Scheme DBS to settle dia workers after retirement.

Di system dey require make goment pay retiree 300 percent of dia annual gross salary as gratuity, and 80 percent of dia last salary as pension but di system collapse as moni no too dey to run am.

Goment introduce di Contributory Pension Scheme CPS wey require di employer and di employee to contribute small small to di pension moni wey di worker go enjoy wen im retire.

Di employer go contribute minimum of 10 percent of di worker salary while di worker go contribute 8 percent from im salary to make am 18 percent into di pension scheme.

Di law make provision for pension fund administrators PFAs to dey manage di funds and possibly make di money generate more money.

Dis system na him di retired police officers dey complain say dem wan comot from, say dem want dia entire moni in lump sum, dem no want make anybody manage am for dem.

Plenti retirees outside di police dey also complain about dia pension and gratuity. some say e dey too tey before di moni go reach dem, some say dem no dey ok say na pension office go dey manage dia pension moni after retirement. but na wetin law tok be dat, and to change am go require to go reform di law.

Plenti of dem say dem no fit use di monthly pension moni to achieve anytin, except dem collect am in bulk.

But Barrister Philip Oyanaa wey be practicing lawyer for Nigeria say provision dey for di act say worker wey retire fit collect lump sum, but to collect di entire pension money im bulk no dey possible under di law.

E say "di pension reform act 2014 explain how di distribution of pension moni fit happun and how dem fit calculate di gratuity".

Pesin wey retire fit collect 25 percent lump sum of im accrued pension fund. den dem go spread di rest and dey pay am monthly as pension.

Gratuity dey defer from employer to employer and company to company. Dem suppose also consider di retired employer age when dem dey package im gratuity and pension.

Nigeria police respond

Nigeria police oga Kayode Egbetukon say im office dey try dia best to improve di welfare of retired and serving police officers.

E agree say some retired police officers dey go through hard times after retirement and di matter come dey put fear inside di serving officers as to wetin dia faith go be wen dem retire.

IGP Egbetukon admit say di moni wey police pensioners dey receive too small compared to present dey realities but add say police still dey hold meetings wit stakeholders, reviews and steps to make life beta for serving and retired police officers.

Nigeria Pension Commission (Pencom) dey control pensions matter for di kontri, but Nigeria police get dia own pension fund administrator PFA company wey be NPF Pension limited wey dey manage dia own pension moni.

For first week of August, Pencom do meeting wit leaders of retired police officers to profer solution to di plight of the retired police pensioners.

E never clear wetin dem agree for di meeting.

For June Pencom office disclose say dem dey propose reforms to make life easy for pensioners, say dem want make federal civil servants wey dey under di CPS system get gratuity at di end of dia service

On Tuesday, Nigeria president Bola Tinubu give order make dem roll out free healthcare access to low income retirees wey dey under di CPS scheme. E also order make dem begin implement wetin im describe as "long overdue pension increases and minimum pension guarantee".

Di president give di order after e get updates from di oga of Nigeria Pension Commission Omolora Oloworaran.

E also direct am make she resolve di longstanding police pension issue, add say officers wey serve and protect di kontri suppose retire wit dignity and peace of mind

Di whole retired police officers pension matter don dey go on for years, but e begin trend big recently.

Last month, one retired superintendent of police do video wia e claim say afta 35 years of service, na only two million naira gratuity e receive and di moni dey come after almost two years after e retire for October 2023. E reject di gratuity money say make goment look into am or im go run tins im own way.

Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun put mouth for di matter say make di Nigeria Police Fund Pension Limited investigate wetin go wrong wey may di Supol receive dat kain moni after 35 years of service.

Since wey di oga of police give order on di matter, NPF Pension Limited neva release any notice on di matter.

Wen BBC Pidgin call di numbers on dia verified websites, di three numbers wey dey dia dey either switched off or not assigned. We send dem request via dia official email address but dem never respond as at press time. Wen our tori pesin go dia office to tok to dem, dem refer am to go tok to di police tok tok pesin wey be Force PRO.

As e stand now di police retirees still dey plan more protest as dem feel say nobody don attend to dia requests over di years even after dia protest.



Faces of retired Nigeria police officers



Retired ASP Jonah



Two retired police officers plus PENCOM logo



Retired Nigeria police officer and Nigeria police oga Kayode Egbetokun