The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has written to the National Assembly, seeking legislative restructuring of retirement benefit payments for the force amid protests by retired officers over miserable pension contributions.

Mr. Egbetokun made the demands in a letter dated July 25, 2025, and addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, days after former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore led hundreds of retired police officers in a protest over their poor pension payments.

In the letter posted by Mr Sowore on Facebook, Mr Egbetokun urged the Nigerian Senate to amend the pension law to exclude the Nigerian Police from the Contributory Pension Scheme, noting that the current system undermines the welfare of police officers and doesn’t reflect the risks associated with the profession.

“I write to respectfully draw Your Excellency’s attention to an urgent and deeply troubling matter that has continued to undermine the welfare, morale, and institutional confidence of personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, namely, the debilitating impact of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) on police retirees,” Mr Egbetokun said.

He added, “The current state of affairs demands decisive legislative action to align the pension realities of the Force with the peculiar risks, structure, and expectations of policing in Nigeria.”

Furthermore, Mr Egbetokun acknowledged the concerns raised by the retired police officers, agreeing that the conditions in which most of them live after exiting the force are “unacceptable” and “humiliating”, while stressing that the CPS is responsible for their “grossly” low post-retirement benefits.

“Today, most retired officers of the Nigeria Police Force live in conditions that are not only unacceptable but humiliating, given the sacrifices they made in service to the nation. Their monthly pension under the CPS is abysmally low and grossly inadequate to meet even,” the police chief added.

Meanwhile, Mr Sowore dismissed Mr Egbetokun’s letter as a mere ruse that is only disguised to calm the rising anger of retired and serving police officers.

“This is a ruse, don’t fall for it,” the politician said in a Facebook post. “It is a calculated move to calm the rising anger of retired and serving police officers, nothing more than a distraction. They are feeling the heat of the #POLICEPROTEST, the very protest they swore would never happen.”