The Nigerian Senate has considered a bill seeking to establish the Police Pension Board.
The bill which scaled second reading on the floor was sponsored by Senator Elisha Ishaku
Leading the debate on the bill, Senator Ishaku noted that the current pension arrangement of the Nigeria Police is under the Pension Commission by virtue of Section 5(1) of the Pension Reform Act 2014.
According to him, the Nigeria Police, though a premier law enforcement and security agency, was left under the Contributory Pension Scheme unlike the Army, Navy, Airforce, Department of State Security Services (DSS), Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), that have their Pension Boards, respectively.
The lawmaker, expressed dismay at the disparities between the pension and gratuity benefits of the Nigeria Police and those of her counterpart in the military.
The Police Pension Board (Establishment) Bill 2022, after scaling second reading, was referred by President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Police Affairs for further work.
The Committee was given four weeks to report back to the chamber in plenary.
Also, a bill for an Act to Repel the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and enact the Administration of Criminal Justice Bill, 2022, scaled second reading during plenary.
The bill sponsored by Senator Emmanuel Orker-Jev, Benue North West, seeks to provide for the establishment of administration of criminal justice monitoring council for effective and efficient administration of justice in Nigeria.
The bill after consideration was referred by the Senate President to the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters for further inputs.
The Senator Opeyemi Bamidele-led Committee was also given four weeks to turn in its report.
