No fewer than 500 retired police officers in Akwa Ibom have petitioned the Judicial Panel of Inquiry investigating incidences of police brutality sitting in Uyo over non-payment of their contributory pension over the years.

The retirees, who were represented by their counsel, Sunday Njoku, said the action of the management of the Police Pension Scheme (PPS), usually perpetrated by bad eggs in the police force, was embarrassing.

“The helpless situation of serving and retired officers have been one of the major causes of the despicable action of officers, who would want to make it before they retire from service. Non-payment of our pensions is even more embarrassing because after saving for 35 years, we get little or nothing after retirement,” they said.

Njoku said his clients were in the panel to contribute their quota to proposed police reform that would go a long way to help members of the public.

The panel has frowned on the attitude of police officers, who were invited to the sitting, saying it would not hesitate to order the arrest of serving or retired officers who would fail to appear before it.

Chairman of the panel, Justice Ifiok Ukana, stated this when some police officers allegedly involved in the murder of one Blessing Alade in Iwuokpom, Ibeno Council Area in 2017, failed to show up at the sitting.

Blessing’s corpse has not been buried for over three years after, while the medical pathologist, Emeka Nwafor, who carried out an autopsy on the deceased failed to appear before the panel.

Father of the deceased, Alade Jonathan, told the panel how the police murdered Blessing in cold blood. (Text, excluding headline, courtesy The Guardian)

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