Retired Police Officer Decries ₦40k Pension After 35 Years of Service, Says Corruption Will Persist Without Reform

A retired Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Esther Marcus, has condemned the contributory pension scheme, describing it as “dirty” and unfair to Nigerian police retirees.

In a viral video, Marcus detailed her struggles post-retirement, including low gratuity, meagre monthly pensions, and alleged government neglect.

Marcus, who retired from the Nigerian Police Force on November 1, 2018, said she received N1.7 million as her gratuity after serving for 35 years and now lives on a monthly pension of N40,000.

After serving for 35 years… I waited for over a year before I was given N1.7 million. Then, after waiting for another three months, they started paying me N40,000 as my monthly pension. That applies to every other policeman and policewoman who retired under this dirty scheme called the contributory pension scheme, she recounted.

We Have Been Abandoned

Marcus alleged that the federal government has ignored police retirees’ pleas despite public hearings and numerous appeals.

She criticised the disparity between police retirees and their counterparts in other security agencies like the Nigerian Army and Department of Secret Service (DSS), who she claims receive better post-retirement benefits.

This struggle has been ongoing for over 10 years now… They are aware of what we’re going through, she said. But when the Army was retiring, the DSS and other paramilitary forces, there was nothing like a public hearing.

In the more than 5mins video, Marcus called on police retirees to take bold action, including occupying the National Assembly to demand better treatment.

She accused those opposing their exemption from the contributory pension scheme of perpetuating suffering among retirees.

We will not stop fighting. What we are planning now is to go and occupy their National Assembly and call CNN to cover the whole programme.

She also pointed to the consequences of ignoring the plight of police retirees, linking the current conditions to corruption within the force.

You want the police, knowing fully well that when they retire, they are going into hell; you want them to stop corruption? They will continue collecting. They will continue extorting. They will continue enriching themselves by whatever means they can, Marcus stated

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