A measure to create the Police Pension Board has been discussed in the Nigerian Senate.
The bill, which scaled second reading on the floor, was sponsored by Senator Elisha Ishaku.
Senator Ishaku, who led the debate on the bill, pointed out that Section 5(1) of the 2014 Pension Reform Act places the Nigeria Police’s current pension scheme under the control of the Pension Commission.
In contrast to the Army, Navy, Airforce, Department of State Security Services (DSS), Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), and National Intelligence Agency (NIA), which each have their own Pension Boards, he claimed that the Nigeria Police, despite being a leading law enforcement and security agency, was left under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
The lawmaker expressed dismay at the disparities between the pension and gratuity benefits of the Nigeria Police and those of her counterparts in the military.
After a second reading, Ahmad Lawan, President of the Senate, forwarded the Police Pension Board (Establishment) Bill 2022 to the Committee on Police Affairs for further consideration.
The Committee was given four weeks to submit a final report to the whole chamber.
Additionally, at plenary, a bill to repeal the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2015 and replace it with the Administration of Criminal Justice Bill of 2022 was scaled.
The measure, sponsored by Benue North West senator Emmanuel Orker-Jev, aims to establish a criminal justice administration monitoring council for the effective and efficient administration of justice in Nigeria.
The Senate President gave the bill some thought before referring it to the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters for more review.
The Senator Opeyemi Bamidele-led Committee was also given four weeks to put in its findings.
