The National Association of Retired Police Officers, under the Contributory Pension Scheme, embarked on a peaceful protest on Monday, calling on the Federal Government to exit them from the scheme due to alleged fraud and corruption.

The pensioners protested at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretariat in Benin City, saying they are dissatisfied with the Contributory Pension Scheme.

Addressing journalists, the Edo State chairman of the Contributory Pension Scheme, SP Anthony Nnachor (retd), said they want the federal government to exit them from the scheme.

He lamented that most of their members have lost their lives because of the poor funds they are receiving from the scheme.

He said, “We are here to let the world know the predicament we are passing through. We are on a peaceful mission. Everybody here seated with me would have served in the force for 35 years meritoriously.

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

“The majority of us are dying every day. What is the main reason? The police In 2004 established a Pension Act. The serving members of the scheme are supposed to contribute seven per cent, while the federal government will contribute eight per cent as well.”

According to Nnachor, that means you are working towards your retirement. It is the money that you have worked for that they will use to pay you. At the end of your service, they will calculate what we call long sum and give you 25 per cent.

He noted that “what we want now is for the federal government to exit us from this evil contributory pension scheme,” adding that “the scheme is a killer disease, we have been in this struggle since 2019.”

The protesters called on President Bola Tinubu to hear their cry and prevail on relevant agencies who are against their exit to, as a matter of urgency, allow them to leave the scheme.

Also speaking, the publicity Secretary of the association, SP Johnson Oyamenda (rtd), advocated for the abolition of the Nigeria Police Fund Pension due to its alleged fraudulent nature.

He appealed to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to help them facilitate the process of exiting from the Contributory Pension Scheme.

Another retired officer in the pension scheme, comrade John Adu, appealed for transparency and accountability in the operations and processes of the pension company.

The retired officers took their protest around some major streets in Benin over what they described as injustice in the pension scheme.