A woman who claimed to have retired as a Deputy Superintendent of Police, Esther Marcus, has lamented the sum of N1.7 million she received as gratuity and a monthly pension of N40,000 after spending 35 years in service A woman who claimed to have retired as a Deputy Superintendent of Police, Esther Marcus, has lamented the sum of N1.7 million she received as gratuity and a monthly pension of N40,000 after spending 35 years in service.

Marcus, who claimed to have joined the Nigeria Police Force (NPFL) before she clocked 16 years, shared her experience in a viral video on social media, lamenting that she is being underpaid after retiring in 2018.

“My name is Esther Marcus, a retired DSP of the Nigerian Police Force. I retired on November 1, 2018. I just want to use myself as a case study. It’s applicable to every other police officer under this dirty contributory pension scheme,” she said.

“After serving for 35 years, though I joined the Nigeria Police Force at a very young age, I escorted a friend; unfortunately, she was not selected, but I was chosen because I was tall, even though I was not yet 16 when I joined the Nigeria Police Force.

“And when I retired in 2018, I waited for over a year before I was given N1.7 million… after 35 years. Then, after waiting for another three months, they started paying me N40,000 as my monthly pension after giving me N1.7 million after serving for 35 years.

“That applies to every other policeman and policewoman who retired under this dirty scheme called the contributory pension scheme. That’s what we’ve been going through.”

Marcus said despite multiple public hearings on the issue, the Federal Government has ignored their pleas.

She said the struggle has been ongoing for over 10 years and disclosed that there was no police retirees’ meeting when she retired in 2018.

According to her, the meeting was started in 2017 and all their cries to the Federal Government have been met with deaf ears, adding that “It’s not an insult, but that’s the truth.

“They are aware of what we’re going through. They’ve held about three or four public hearings on this case. But when the Army was retiring, the DSS and other paramilitary forces — there was nothing like a public hearing.”

Marcus said she believes there is an inequality within the police force, explaining that senior officers like the Assistant Inspectors General (AIGs), Deputy Inspectors General (DIGs), and the Inspector General (IG) have been exempted from this pension scheme.

“The AIGs, DIGs, and IGs have exempted themselves from this dirty contributory pension scheme. They only left the Commissioners of Police downwards; they are the ones suffering it,” she stated.

“The president cannot say he hasn’t heard this issue. He knows what is happening,” she said, adding that she is determined to continue the fight for justice, vowing that the retired police officers would not stop advocating for their rights.

“Let me tell you, we will never stop fighting because even those coming behind us… you cannot just see pure injustice and not fight against it. It’s not possible.

“How do you expect me to survive on N40,000? That’s for me as a DSP. We have two-star officers, and one-star officers, who are receiving N28,000. And you want them to survive on this? What offence did the police commit to deserve this ill-treatment?

“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.”

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