The International Human Rights Commission, Nigeria, has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently address the systemic flaws in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as it affects retired officers of the Nigeria Police Force, describing the current arrangement as a constitutional breach and a threat to human dignity.
This was contained in a diplomatic memo addressed to the President and titled, “A Diplomatic Appeal for Police Pension Welfare Reform in Line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
In a statement signed on Saturday by IHRC’s Head of Media and Strategic Communications, Fidelis Onakpoma, the commission threw its weight behind the renewed push by the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, for a comprehensive reform of the CPS.
Nigerian IHRC’s reaction
The Head of Mission, IHRC, Ambassador Duru Hezekiah, was quoted in the statement as saying, “The commission firmly supports the Inspector-General of Police’s ongoing advocacy for a just and equitable pension scheme for retired police officers.
“We call on President Tinubu to urgently address the systemic flaws in the Contributory Pension Scheme, which violate constitutional provisions guaranteeing dignity and adequate social support for public officers.”
Citing Sections 17(3)(f) and 34(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), IHRC said the Nigerian state is legally bound to ensure the welfare and dignity of its retired officers, a responsibility it is currently failing in.
According to the commission, thousands of retired police officers are living in hardship under a pension system that disregards the realities of law enforcement service.
“The Constitution mandates the state to ensure the wellbeing of retired officers, not to abandon them to a broken system.
“The current structure of the CPS as applied to the police is inadequate, unfair, and incompatible with Nigeria’s constitutional values. These officers spent their lives in service, often in the face of extreme danger, yet they retire into poverty and indignity,” the IHRC stated.
The commission’s intervention follows a high-level meeting convened by the IGP on July 1, 2025, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
The meeting brought together delegations from the National Association of Retired Police Officers of Nigeria, led by AIG Paul O. Ochonu (retd.), and the Coalition of CPS Retirees, led by CP Henry Njoku (retd.), to address mounting concerns over pension inadequacies.
Police boss’ Part
During the meeting, Egbetokun reiterated his resolve to push for a more just and practical pension structure, describing the current system as a gross injustice.
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“Our retirees deserve dignity, support, and a structure that reflects their sacrifice and service to Nigeria.
“We cannot continue to subject our heroes to a pension scheme that is clearly unfit for the nature of their work and the risks they bore,” the IG declared.
Egbetokun’s comments echoed sentiments he had expressed earlier in February during an interactive session with retired officers at the Police Resource Centre in Abuja, where he criticized the CPS as “deeply flawed and unfit for the realities of Police service.”
The IHRC amplified this concern, highlighting what it described as an unjust disparity between Police and military retirees.
While the latter are exempted from the CPS and benefit from a more suitable pension arrangement, police retirees, the commission said, continue to suffer from a scheme that fails to provide basic security in old age.
“The military has rightly been removed from the CPS because of the peculiar nature of their job. The same logic applies, if not more so, to police personnel.
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“Our police officers risk their lives daily, and they deserve a pension structure that reflects that reality. Anything less is an affront to justice, equity, and national security,” said Hezekiah.
In line with Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the IHRC urged the Presidency to act decisively in addressing the disparity and upholding the constitutional and moral obligations of the state to its law enforcement agents.
“Reforming the police pension structure is not merely a policy issue, it is a constitutional and moral obligation.
We believe this government has the opportunity to right this historical wrong and restore dignity to our Police retirees,” the statement read.
