- Safiu Kehinde
Human right activist Omoyele Sowore, and social media influencer, Bello Galandanci, popularly known as Dan Bello, have led retired police officers in protest over non-payment of their pension.
NPO Reported that the Union of Retired Police Officers had last month announced plan to stage nationwide protest due to unresolved pension challenges, especially for retired personnel under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
The union had called for the exit of the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme, which they claim has subjected them to untold economic hardship, financial embarrassment, and an alarming rise in depression and deaths among retired personnel.
Leading the protest in Abuja on Monday, Sowore, alongside Dan Bello and human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, led the protesters as they stormed the Force headquarters.
As captured in posts shared on X, the protesters could be seen charging towards the police officers mobilised to restrain.
The officers could however not withhold the protesters who continued to break through the police barricade as they approach the Force headquarters.
Speaking in one of the posts, Sowore held that the protesters are not backing down.
He highlighted the plights of the police officers as well as their demands which increment in police salary to N500,000 and life insurance for a serving officers.
“We are not backing down. We are here on behalf of the policemen, rank and file, who are suffering. It is natural for them to issue there usual bogus and stupid statements when people rise up for their rights.
“It is what they do. I think they have a template in their office that they just put a date on the same statement.
“That’s not even the issue here. Our concern is the well being of these men, how they get their entitlement, for those who are serving, those who have retired, and those who are dead as well who family members have not been paid their entitlement.
“We are asking that there is no policeman in Nigeria that does not have a life insurance, that there is no policeman in Nigeria that should earn less that N500,000 per month.
“The reason is that you cannot ask a policeman to be guarding a bank and the bank manager is better paid than the police that is protecting the money. The person doing the real work is the policeman that is ensuring that the bank is not robbed not the bank manager who is writing how much is in the vault.
“So, it is even small because N500,000 is about $300. That is even small in a month. Whereas, the Senators in these places who barley come to work, an average Senator takes home N30 million per month and the policeman who are at their gate cannot even buy paracetamol.
“How can somebody serve the country for 35 years and they go home with N2 million? Some of them even go home with N900,000. Are you going to buy recharge card with N900,000 after 35 years?
“Even if we don’t fight for them, it will be inconsiderable on our part to ignore them. Because the argument is always that why fighting for police because police is bad? Police is bad because Nigeria is also bad.
“Leaders of Nigeria are very bad leaders and you cannot find a good Police from a very bad country.” He said.
Also addressing newsmen at the protest ground, Adeyanju condemned the underpayment of the police officers.
“Have you seen any police officer that looks happy? They all look angry because they are being underpaid. How can somebody serve the country for 35 years and he leaves with 1.5 million Naira.” He said.