Some retired police officers in Edo State staged a peaceful protest across major streets in Benin City, demanding their removal from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) introduced in 2004.

The protesting retirees on Monday decried the inadequacy of their post-service benefits, describing the scheme as unjust and unsustainable.

The officers, who marched with placards, later addressed the press, calling on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to urgently intervene and pass the bill seeking to exclude police personnel from the scheme.

Speaking at the press conference, Chairman of the CPS Retirees in Edo State, Anthony Nnachor, a retired Superintendent of Police, said many of their members have died due to the hardship and poor financial support received after retirement.

“It has become imperative for us to tell the world the problem we are going through. We are now living in abject poverty and can no longer meet our responsibilities as parents,” Nnachor said.

He explained that under the current scheme, police officers contribute 7% of their salaries, while the federal government contributes 8%. At retirement, officers receive only 25% of their total accrued savings as a lump sum, with the rest spread over monthly stipends by pension administrators.

“The scheme is a killer disease. We have been in this struggle since 2019. The 9th National Assembly passed our bill, but the 10th Assembly failed to harmonise it. Public hearings have been held, yet the process has been adjourned indefinitely. We want the National Assembly to act and pass the bill,” he lamented.

Nnachor called on President Tinubu to intervene and direct the relevant agencies to allow police retirees to exit the scheme, which he said had failed to protect their welfare.

Also speaking, the association’s Publicity Secretary, Comrade Johnson Oyameda, urged the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to champion their cause and support their exit from the CPS.

Another retired officer, Comrade John Adu, emphasized the importance of transparency and accountability in managing police pensions. He stressed that the security and dignity of officers who served the nation should not be taken for granted.

The retirees maintained that the CPS has failed to provide financial security and called for a return to the previous defined benefit pension scheme that guaranteed better post-retirement support.