September 07, (THEWILL) — The maltreatment of pensioners in Nigeria got to an abysmal level last week when policemen in Lagos tear-gassed senior citizens protesting unpaid pension increases, wage awards and other outstanding benefits. Under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners and the Contributory Pension Scheme, the pensioners had chosen to protest to draw attention to their plight.
According to reports, the retirees did not act without sufficient notice and prior policy support. For one, they had alerted the state government to the August 31 deadline for their demonstration if it failed to address their demands. Secondly, the government is yet to act promptly on the prior advice of the National Pension Commission, PenCom, to extend the periodic pension increase granted to retirees under the Defined Benefit Scheme and the Contributory Pension Scheme. On this advice, the state is said to have given its assurances to the retirees when the Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) stated it had paid N168 billion to about 48,000 pensioners in response to complaints from retirees in an earlier report. Still, the payments were delayed and staggered, ending up putting pressure on many of them.
However, on the day the retirees made good their demand to exercise their legal right to protest, which they did at the government premises, they met battle-ready policemen, who deployed tear gas to disperse them.
In justification of the policemen’s actions, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, said that the law permits the force to use proportionate force to quell any riotous or disorderly gathering. He maintained that the Constitution does not confer on any Nigerian the right to behave disorderly. Matched against the view of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mr Femi Falana, it is the police that behaved disorderly.
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Mr Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), described the police action as unlawful and asked the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, to identify and prosecute the officers involved.
Falana cited Section 4 of the Nigeria Police Force Establishment Act 2020, which he said requires the police officer responsible for an area where a rally, meeting or procession is taking place to deploy personnel to provide security. He described the police action as a breach of Section 83(4) of the Police Establishment Act. Falana referred to the 2008 Court of Appeal decision in Inspector-General of Police v All Nigerian People’s Party, affirming the right of Nigerians to organise rallies and demonstrations without obtaining a police permit, exercising their right to peaceful assembly and protest.
The judgement, according to Mr Falana, recognised rallies and placard-carrying demonstrations as a means through which citizens express their views on issues affecting them and the government. Therefore, the legal luminary urged the Inspector General of Police, Olatuji Disu, to identify the officers involved in the tear gas saga and prosecute them. We agree with Mr Falana’s position. Worse is the fact that the protesters are senior citizens, those who have given their youth, talents, and expertise in service to the country.
Alarmingly, when the video of police brutality against the pensioners went viral, the Police Command in Lagos denied it, describing the video as AI-generated, until Iniedu confirmed the report. Nonetheless, it is commendable that the State government has agreed to meet with the retirees and discuss the way forward, while officials of the National Pension Commission said it was engaging the Lagos State Government and the Lagos State Pension Commission over the concerns raised by retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme. What happened in Lagos is just a sad experience of what pensioners go through in many states of the federation, including the Federal Government. The difference, and condemnable action, is the use of tear gas by policemen. Even so, we urge the authorities to learn from this ugly incident and treat our senior citizens with more respect and dignity.
