Recruited To Suffer: Nigerian Police Officers Left Behind As N1.31 Trillion Budget Prioritizes Everything But Their Welfare!

Secrets Reporters

In a coordinated nationwide protest that stretched across several states, retired police officers gathered under heavy rain in Abuja and other state capitals to demand an end to what they describe as years of neglect, poverty and injustice.

Meanwhile, an x-ray of the 2025 police budget reveals shocking priorities. While the total allocation stands at N1.31 trillion, only a negligible fraction is dedicated to the welfare of officers. The Ministry of Police Affairs earmarked a laughable N60.8 million for welfare packages, less than 0.005% of the entire budget. In contrast, billions were approved for armored vehicles, surveillance systems, and even pedestrian bridges at the Police Academy in Kano.

The recent demonstration of the retired officers over welfare, led by elderly former police personnel, took place at the gates of the National Assembly and state police headquarters in cities including Benin, Jos, Ilorin, Jalingo and Calabar. Many of the protesters, some visibly frail, held placards and chanted in defiance of the storm, standing their ground to demand a complete withdrawal of the Nigeria Police Force from the current Contributory Pension Scheme.

Their complaint is simple but piercing: after years of service to the nation, many of them retire to receive as little as N14,000 to N22,000 a month as pension. Several retirees described it as a system designed to impoverish rather than support those who had put their lives on the line for national security.

A retired Assistant Superintendent of Police, Joshua Abdul from Bauchi State, revealed he had gone without pension payments for nine months. He said some of his colleagues had died as a result. Another retiree disclosed that after serving for 15 years, he received a gratuity of just N3.6 million, a sharp contrast to what is received by counterparts in other security agencies who collect up to N30 million.

Chief Superintendent of Police Manir Lawal, who retired at age 67, was among those who addressed the crowd. He described the pension scheme as both exploitative and unjust. “We have served this country faithfully. We deserve to retire in dignity. This scheme has impoverished us,” he said.

The protests, which came just days after the Nigeria Police Force issued a statement urging calm and pledging commitment to reform, reveal a growing gulf between assurances from leadership and the lived experiences of retired personnel.

Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, in a statement released through the Force Public Relations Officer, acknowledged the concerns and noted that the agitation for removal from the Contributory Pension Scheme has been ongoing since 2014. He said past and present police leadership have engaged stakeholders but are constrained by legal and fiscal complexities. According to him, exiting the scheme is beyond the authority of the police and lies with the National Assembly and other statutory institutions.

He added that the current leadership is exploring alternative solutions, including the use of internally generated revenue to support retired officers and engaging the private sector for additional pension support. But protesters see this as bureaucratic stalling. For many, nothing short of total exemption from the scheme would be acceptable.

The outcry from the streets stands in stark contrast to the 2025 budget of the Nigeria Police Force, which stands at over N1.3 trillion. Among the capital expenditures are figures that have raised eyebrows. These include N5 billion for armoured Toyota Hilux vehicles fitted with gun points, N4.6 billion for Safe School Intervention projects, N2.96 billion for surveillance systems, and N1 billion for pedestrian bridges at the Police Academy.

Despite a reported pension debt of N758 billion owed to security agencies as of June 2025, the budget made no provisions for its clearance. This has only fueled suspicions among retirees that their welfare is not a priority.

Security experts have warned that such neglect carries national security implications. Dr Kabiru Adamu, a respected analyst, noted that morale in the police force, active or retired, is tied directly to performance. “A demoralized police force jeopardizes security. If officers know retirement means poverty, corruption becomes attractive,” he said.

The protest in Abuja drew the attention of activist and politician Omoyele Sowore, who joined the demonstrators and criticized the government’s spending priorities. “How can a country allocate billions to buy trucks and ignore the men and women who once manned them?” he asked.

While the Inspector-General has directed police commands to protect the rights of the protesters and ensure the protests remain peaceful, the issue appears far from resolved. The National Assembly has yet to issue a formal response, even as retired officers vow to continue their campaign.

The figures tell their own story. The 2025 police budget shows a total allocation of N1.31 trillion. Of this, 85.5 percent goes to personnel costs, 7.9 percent to overhead, and 6.6 percent to capital projects. Less than one hundredth of one percent goes to welfare.