Retired Chief Superintendent of Police, Raphael Irowainu, is the National Coordinator, Police Retired Officers Forum, (PROF), currently agitating for the exclusion of the Nigeria Police from the PENCOM’s contributory pension scheme. He speaks with BIYI ADEGOROYE on the inadequacy and delay in the payment of police gratuities and the amendment of the Act currently at the National Assembly

For some time now, you have led the retired police officers to protest at the National Assembly. Tell us about the complaints of these police retirees?

Our major complaint has been against the deliberate act of the government to put the Police permanently on the contributory pension scheme under PENCOM, introduced by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2004.

Recall that in 2017, the military, DSS, EFCC. NIA, DMI and even the National Assembly itself, all left the scheme. At that time, we had the opportunity to leave, but the then InspectorGeneral of Police, Idris Katung, for selfish reasons, sent the then CP Legal Department to represent him at the hearing, and told them that the Police were satisfied with where they are.

The reason was that these IGPs came together to form the Nigeria Police Pension Scheme. It is a private company labelled as if it is meant for the Police.

They have perpetually kept us under the scheme. It will be interesting to note that retired police officers are paid peanuts. For instance, ASP retired is given N1.5 million as his total take home, with a monthly pension of about N24,000. DSP takes about N2 million with a monthly pension of about N25, 000, SP about N2.5 million with about N30,000 monthly. CSP, N3 million with about N50,000 monthly pension.

ACP, around N6 Million to N7 million with about N60,000 monthly pension; DCP about N8 million with monthly pension of about N65 to N70, 000. Even CP retired, before we started this our agitation was receiving N75,000 monthly. It will interest you to know that a retired WO2 (Warrant Officer 2), equivalent of an Inspector in the Nigeria Police, receives about N30 million as his take home pay.

What has been the impact of these on you and your colleagues after service?

This pension has reduced retired police officers to subhuman beings. They are suffering and dying because this money cannot take care of anything. To worsen matters, most of us that retired since 2024 have not been paid our gratuity. Even if they pay this money, it has no value. What are we going to do with it? Many of our colleagues have died. Many are living in abject poverty.

They are suffering and have become beggars. They live in uncertainty now. We have seen instances where retired police officers go to the road to beg for money to live. Some of them who did not give birth early enough can no longer fund their children’s education. Some of their children have taken to crime because of the inability of the parents to take care of them.

The implication of this thing is huge on the country. What they are doing now is a deliberate act to undermine national security. Right now, those in police service are demoralized. There is no sane policeman who sees what we are passing through now that will be committed to his duties. Ironically, the duties we are performing are so important to the nation that it cannot be ignored. Police effect arrest, investigate cases, compile case files and prosecute suspects in the courts. These jobs are performed by the police.

By the time someone thinks about his possible miserable life in retirement, how will he do the job professionally? This poor and delayed payment promotes corruption and a lot of unethical conducts and behavior. All the anti-corruption moves of the respective IGPs are a nullity when the force laid the foundation for corruption when they fail to put in place living retirement benefits for the police officers. And the Police Management Team are not helping matters, because they have secretly exited PENCOM.

Officers from the rank of AIG to IGP are no longer with us on the contributing pension scheme. They are our Generals, unfortunately, they have abandoned us in the warfront; unfortunately, they are the ones who are benefiting from this. If they fail to remove us from the contributing pension scheme, the current insecurity in Nigeria will be a child’s play.

Are you referring to possible dangers of exposing retirees who have been trained in weapon handling and crime prevention to want upon retirement?

The dangers are a legion. One, both serving and retired officers are part of the Nigerian system. We have been trained in the area of intelligence gathering, weapon handling and where these people are now denied of their basic needs, there is tendency that they might take to crime, form their own criminal gangs or cartels and it will be very difficult for anybody to suppress them. If a security man organizes a crime, he becomes a problem to the security agencies. This is because the retired police officers know what their colleagues in the service know.

Now, on intelligence gathering, these retirees are now part of the society, and because of the way the government is treating them, if they see any infraction of potential crime in the system, they will keep mute, or look the other way. They can even sabotage crime prevention efforts if they want to. It will affect the economy; it will affect social life and every other thing. So, it is not in the interest of the government to ignore the needs of the serving and retired police officers by improving their pension scheme.

The government must, as a matter of urgency, do everything to ensure that the Police are removed from this fraudulent pension contributory pension scheme. Following our agitation last month, the House of Representatives passed the amendment Bill, and forwarded it to the Senate for concurrency and harmonization. But since last week, the Senate has not done anything about it. We were even at the Senate on Thursday, but were alarmed that the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has not presented or listed it for discussion.

We are calling on Nigerians, because of our love for our dear country, we are calling on all good Nigerians to prevail on the Senate and the President to expedite action on our bill, so that sanity can return to the Nigeria Police. Without fixing the Police, the problem of internal security in Nigeria cannot be fixed, because we are the leading security agency on internal security in Nigeria. It is very imperative for the government to do the needful now before it gets out of hand. People are complaining about insecurity, yet you don’t want to take care of those they are sending to fight in insecurity, yet people are dying.

The other time five policemen were killed in America, I think during Barack Obama’s period, the whole US stood still. When you have such in place, servicemen will know why they are dying. But in Nigeria, when a policeman is killed on the line of duty, nobody cares. In 2013, in Nasarawa State, about 50 policemen were killed along with 10 DSS operatives on their way to arrest a criminal gang leader. While the DSS’ relations were given N10 million and a house each, dependents of the policemen received N2.5 million each. Even for their relations to get the entitlement was a problem.

So, the government has actually neglected the police. By its action, we can say that the government is not interested in the security of Nigerians. Any government that is interested in the security of its people will take care of its police, because that is the live wire and driving force for internal security of any country. Policemen are dying daily.

Even the debarment allowance that Buhari introduced for security personnel that die in service or retired after 25 years, during his tenure, you will be surprised that policemen have not been paid. It is because we have irresponsive leadership. For instance, in the military, the least they pay their family when they die in service is N5million (it is not part of their pension of gratuity or pension).

But how do you classify the cheques often presented by IGP and CPs to relations of dead officers?

This is the meagre insurance indemnity paid to their relations. It is part of their entitlement. Even in the case of policemen that die on the line of duty, it takes two to three years to pay that life insurance indemnity. The Police is totally neglected and that is why there is insecurity in the nation. If they fail to fix the Police, there will continue to be insecurity in the nation.

This is because, as I said before, the Police are the lead agency in the case of internal security. For instance, if you talk about DSS, the soldiers or Civil Defence, when it is 6 pm, you can’t see any of them outside. The people you will see on patrol and maintaining security in the night are the policemen. Even investigation of cases is done by the police. Even when the soldiers themselves have problems, they come to report to the police.

They have totally neglected us. It is like a deliberate action by the government to ensure that the Police should not be adequately taken care of, so that they can continue to feed fat on the security budget. So, we want to use this opportunity to call on all well-meaning Nigerians, religious and traditional rulers as well as opinion leaders to prevail on the government if they want to promote internal security.

If they don’t, the Police will continue to transfer aggression to Nigerians. For instance, go to some parts of Lagos. You will see the Police arresting people who are returning from their workplace or social event at 11pm, in the name of wandering, which has no place in our law books. And at the end of the day, such people will part with N20,000 or more in the name of bail; they do this in order to survive. Even the State Headquarters is not releasing money to run the Police Divisional Headquarters.

That is the issue. What happens to the monthly or quarterly running cost said to be given to the police formations?

It is either too little or too late. There are sometimes when they pay every quarter and the total money released to each division is N30,000. How far can that go? Practically, it is the DPO and Area Commanders and the CP of every command that run those formations by themselves. Let me bust your brain, as I speak to you, there is no police division that has a bank account of its own in Nigeria. The Nigeria Police Force is being run as a private business of the DPO, Area Commander or the CP and AIG.

Even when money is being released to them, it is very infinitesimal. It is as if they are not given anything. So, the government is responsible for the inefficiency of the police. The police leadership relies on the pecuniary rewards they get from office. For instance, the DPO relies on the money he is able to gather from members of the public, say politicians and friends and at the end of the day, such funds colours their judgment and professionalism.

For example, if the criminal in a community buys vehicle for the police formation, will the division be able to take any action when he commits a crime? You are going to compromise. By their failure to adequately fund the Police, the government exposes them to compromise.

What is the update on the proposed amendment of the Act to remove police retirees from PENCOM?

On the 9th of October, my people and I shut down the National Assembly. Then, we were able to meet with the Chairman, House Committee on Police Affairs. That action led to quick passage of our bill by the House. We were at the Senate to let them know why they should expedite action on Bill at the Senate on their concurrence.

During the week If they fail to do it, the whole retirees will have no option than to embark on a more serious protest. This time around, we will extend the protest to the International Airport, Abuja, to let the whole world know what we are passing through. Because, any nation that neglects the welfare of its police, has neglected the security of the whole country.

We are giving them till 12th of November to ensure that the Bill is passed and transmitted to the President for his assent. Where they fail to do this, we will storm Abuja for another round of protest. What we have done so far is child’s play.

Retired Police Officers have warned of inherent dangers in Federal Government’s failure to pay their pension and gratuities, stating that starving them of funds could expose them to utilising their proficiency and skills for criminality.

The National Coordinator, Police Retired Officers Forum, (PROF), Chief Superintendent of Police, Raphael Irowainu, who spoke with Sunday Telegraph, lamented that since 2024, thousands of retired officers were in penury following non-payment of their pensions and gratuities.

He called for an upward review of the gratuities and pensions to ensure parity with their sister security agencies’. “We are suffering. In 2013, in Nasarawa State, about 50 policemen were killed along with 10 DSS operatives on their way to arrest a criminal gang leader.

While the DSS’ relations were given N10 million and a house each, dependents of the policemen received N2.5 million each. Even for their relations to get the entitlement was a problem.

So, the government has actually neglected the police.” On the dangers associated with such denials, he added: “Both serving and retired officers are part of the Nigerian system.

We have been trained in the area of intelligence gathering, weapon handling and where these people are now denied of their basic needs, there is tendency that they might take to crime, form their own criminal gangs or cartels and it will be very difficult for anybody to suppress them.

If a security man organises a crime, he becomes a problem to the security agencies. This is because the retired police officers know what their colleagues in the service know.”