The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has put forward a proposal for a 200 per cent gratuity and pension for retired police officers as part of reforms aimed at resolving long-running pension difficulties in the Nigeria Police Force.
Disu made the disclosure on Sunday in Abuja, stating that the proposal had been submitted to a Presidential Committee set up to examine police concerns and recommend sustainable solutions. He explained that the plan was designed to secure improved retirement benefits for police personnel and address longstanding pension challenges.
The committee includes representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, the Budget Office of the Federation and the National Pension Commission.
Under the proposed framework, eligible officers would be able to retire on pension benefits linked to their last salaries, alongside an enhanced gratuity. Disu said the package was also expected to address recurring protests by serving officers seeking to exit the Contributory Pension Scheme, a matter that has remained contentious within the force.
The Inspector-General said the initiative would resolve outstanding pension liabilities, provide more adequate retirement benefits and create a more efficient pension administration system. He added that it would also cover officers who retired before the new framework takes effect, with provisions to review their benefits in line with the revised terms rather than limiting reform to future retirees.
Disu noted that the committee would recommend measures to address outstanding liabilities, funding arrangements and benefit administration, while improving coordination among the institutions responsible for pension policy, funding and administration. He stressed that the proposal remains subject to the committee's deliberations, relevant government approvals, funding arrangements and implementation guidelines. He cautioned that the proposed 200 per cent gratuity and pension should not be regarded as an approved benefit or an existing entitlement.
On pension payments, Disu said President Bola Tinubu's intervention in the police pension crisis had raised expectations among retired officers who had long complained about inadequate benefits, delayed payments and administrative bottlenecks. He said the Federal Government had cleared a backlog that previously left some retirees waiting for up to two years and had introduced pension increments, with some beneficiaries now receiving almost double their previous pension payments.
