Nigeria buries its police alive after 10 Years – Ex-IGP explodes over pension scam

DDM News

In a startling revelation, former Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has disclosed that Nigeria’s police pension system effectively considers retirees dead a decade after they leave service, even if they are still alive.

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) gathered that Baba made these comments during a video interview shared by ESET TV and monitored by SaharaReporters on YouTube, where he described the pension system as “exploitative, unjust, and fundamentally broken.”

According to the former IGP, retired police officers—regardless of their rank—receive meager monthly pensions, often not exceeding ₦100,000, despite years of service.

He lamented that the scheme not only shortchanges officers financially but also treats them as non-existent after 10 years of retirement.

“I think 10 years after retirement, you will be considered dead,” Baba stated.

“That’s how the system works. Even very senior officers don’t get more than ₦100,000 monthly.”

Baba, who served as police chief between April 2021 and June 2023, further revealed that the system pays retirees only a portion of their contributions.

“There is no police officer that retires and gets even half of what he has contributed,” he said.

“They give you a fraction, invest another portion, and pay you a token monthly until you are declared dead, whether you’re alive or not.”

He disclosed that such systemic abuse has triggered waves of protests by retired officers, some of which occurred during his tenure.

“This is not the first time retired police officers are protesting,” Baba said.

“They protested even during my time—though not at this scale. Even contractors working for the police have protested at different times.”

The former police chief traced the roots of the problem to the early implementation of the contributory pension scheme.

He said the military and intelligence agencies quickly exited the scheme when they realized it was not viable.

“When the scheme started, all security agencies were part of it,” he explained.

“But the military and intelligence community quickly opted out during Jonathan’s tenure after seeing it wouldn’t work. The police tried too but were blocked.”

According to Baba, the Nigerian Police was initially congratulated for exiting the scheme.

However, he said the pension industry lobbied the government to retain police contributions, arguing that the scheme would collapse if the police, the largest contributors, exited.

“The police were then asked to set up their own pension scheme. That’s how this so-called police pension was born,” he said.

But even with a separate police pension system, Baba said the financial suffering of retirees has continued.

“Despite establishing our own scheme, the injustice remains,” he concluded.

The former IGP’s revelations have reignited public outrage over pension mismanagement and have put fresh pressure on the federal government to overhaul the system.

Many Nigerians on social media have expressed shock that men and women who dedicated their lives to national service are being treated with such indifference in retirement.

Some commenters have called for a public inquiry into the handling of police pensions, while others demand that lawmakers urgently revisit the legality and morality of the system.

Critics say it is unconscionable for the state to consider living pensioners dead simply because a decade has passed.

Meanwhile, groups advocating for retirees’ welfare, including some ex-police unions, have hinted at fresh protests if reforms are not urgently implemented.

The controversial policy, as revealed by Baba, adds to the list of grievances dogging Nigeria’s public sector pension administration, particularly among security personnel.

The revelation also casts new doubt on the sincerity of reforms promised in the wake of high-profile pension fraud cases, such as the ₦24 billion scam uncovered in the Police Pension Office in 2012.

As more retired officers come forward with personal accounts of hardship, the call for urgent action continues to grow louder.

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook