….. Pay Pensioners Their Entitlements, Coalition Tells Sanwo-Olu
We, the coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Lagos, strongly condemn the reported tear-gassing of peaceful pensioners demanding their unpaid entitlements and the Lagos State Police Command’s subsequent denial. We hereby demand an independent investigation into the assault and alleged attempts to conceal what happened.
We find the reported attack on elderly pensioners cruel, unacceptable, disgraceful, and an indefensible abuse of state power. These are citizens who spent decades working and contributing to society. They came out peacefully to demand payment of benefits they are legally and morally entitled to but were rewarded with tear gas.
Even more disturbing is the reported denial by the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), SP Abimbola Adebisi, that the pensioners were teargassed. In the face of eyewitness accounts, including that of a pensioners’ leader, pointing to the use of tear gas, the appropriate response from the police should be an apology and a transparent investigation, not an attempt to cover up what happened. If the Police Command cannot acknowledge misconduct involving its own officers, how can ordinary citizens trust it to protect them?
We are particularly disgusted by any attempt to discredit elderly citizens who have come forward to recount their experience. Respect for elders is deeply rooted in our culture and social values. To publicly dismiss the account of elderly pensioners without credible investigation is not only wrong but also profoundly disrespectful to people who deserve dignity after a lifetime of service.
We therefore demand that the Police Service Commission urgently examine the conduct of the PRO. If an officer entrusted with communicating on behalf of the police is found to have deliberately misrepresented or concealed facts about an alleged assault on citizens, she should not remain in that position. The office of police spokesperson should inspire public trust, not undermine it.
We also question why elderly Nigerians had to be subjected to force in the first place. What threat did these pensioners pose? Were they armed? Were they violent? Members of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, including retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme, had gathered at the Lagos State House of Assembly on August 31, 2026, following the expiration of a 19-day ultimatum over unpaid pension increases, wage awards and arrears. Their peaceful demonstration was disrupted when police officers fired tear gas at them, forcing elderly citizens to flee for safety.
Several eyewitnesses, including the Deputy Chairman of the Nigerian Pensioners Practitioners of Lagos State, Mr. Latif Salau, have narrated their ordeal to the media. According to Mr. Salau, a senior police officer subsequently apologised after the attack and offered the pensioners sachet water and biscuits.
If the teargassing did not occur, as the police claim, why would an officer apologise to the protesters afterwards? Furthermore, there are news reports of Mr. Tayo Ayinde, Chief of Staff to the Lagos State Governor, apologising for, and absolving the state of responsibility for the teargassing of the retirees. Do the police claim they did not see these publicly available reports before issuing the so-called rebuttal?
We are concerned about the repeated repression of civil rights in Lagos. This is not the first time peaceful protesters have faced tear gas and police violence at the Lagos State House of Assembly. On January 28, 2026, residents peacefully protesting illegal demolitions and forced evictions were subjected to a violent police crackdown. The then Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh, not only ordered officers to fire tear gas at protesters but also took part in beating citizens exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights.
Yet, just months later, under a new Commissioner of Police, we are once again confronted with allegations of teargassing citizens exercising their right to peaceful protest. How many peaceful protesters must be attacked before the government admits that there is a systemic problem in the police leadership?
From the #EndSARS protests of 2020 to the repression of the 2024 #EndBadGovernance protests and now the reported attacks on pensioners and residents protesting demolitions, the repeated use of force against citizens demanding accountability suggests that the lessons of previous crises have not been learnt. Nigerians must be able to speak out against government failures without fear of police violence.
We therefore call on the Inspector-General of Police to immediately set up internal mechanism to review the operation of the Lagos State Police Command especially with regards to the responsibility of the police hierarchy in the State in enforcing discipline and responsible conduct in the ranks. We also call for the retraining of officers attached to the Command on the rights of peaceful protesters, proportionality, de-escalation and the appropriate use of force.
Beyond this, we recommend that officers found to have authorised or used unlawful force against peaceful and vulnerable protesters undergo appropriate professional and psychological fitness assessments and face disciplinary action. The willingness to deploy teargas against old men and women raises serious questions about their mental conditions and fitness for public-order duties.
In addition, we call on the media, whose reports are being falsely discredited to resist intimidation or undue influence, and publicly stand by their reports and their courageous reporters.
We equally call on the Lagos State Government to stop treating pension payments as an act of generosity. These are earned entitlements by men and women who gave Lagos their working years. Must they now spend their retirement begging for payment and suffering police brutality simply because they demanded their money?
Their demands are specific: under the Defined Benefit Scheme, 57 months of arrears from the 2019 consequential adjustment, 12 months of arrears from the 20 and 28 per cent increases approved in 2024, and the N32,000 wage award effective from January 2024. Under the Contributory Pension Scheme, they seek unpaid increases dating back to 2010, subsequent adjustments and the N32,000 wage award.
Why does this dispute persist despite rising federal allocations to the state? Published analysis shows Lagos received N365.78 billion in FAAC disbursements in the first half of 2026, up 54.39 per cent from N236.92 billion in the same period of 2025. The Sanwo-Olu administration must explain how these additional funds are being spent and why pension obligations remain unmet.
Already, pensioners’ representatives report that some members have died awaiting payment. Further delays threaten elderly retirees already struggling to afford food, housing and medical care.
We demand that Governor Sanwo-Olu meet the pensioners directly, condemn the police assault, pay undisputed arrears immediately and publish a clear, time-bound and enforceable schedule for settling all outstanding claims. We call on the National Pension Commission and all other relevant bodies to also engage the Lagos State Government and pensioner representatives to resolve these issues.
Finally, we remind the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Police Force that Sections 39 and 40 of the Constitution protect freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, while Section 210 provides constitutional protection for pension rights. Pensioners have every right to peacefully demand that government fulfil its obligations. They must not be intimidated, humiliated or silenced for doing so. This has become one too many. We demand accountability, justice, and above all, that Nigeria’s elderly citizens be treated with the dignity they have earned.
Signed:
- Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA)
- #Endbadgovernance Movement, Lagos State
- Precision, Electrical and Related Equipment Senior Staff Association (PERESSA)
- Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) Lagos State
- Joint Action Front (JAF)
- Campaign for Democratic and Workers Rights (CDWR)
- Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC)
- Centre for Human & Socio-economic Rights (CHSR)
