…urges Lagos govt to pay pensioners’ outstanding benefits
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) on Tuesday condemned the reported use of tear gas and force against pensioners protesting on Monday over unpaid pensions, gratuities and other entitlements at the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The rights group, in a statement signed by its National President, Yinka Folarin, and General Secretary, Idris Afees, described the alleged action against the elderly protesters as “inhumane, unacceptable and a serious affront to human dignity.”
The pensioners were reportedly at the Assembly complex on Monday to demand the payment of their outstanding entitlements after years of service to the Lagos State Government.
Reacting to reports of the protest, the CDHR said, “Elderly men and women, who dedicated several years of their productive lives to the service of Lagos State, were reportedly dispersed with tear gas while exercising their fundamental right to peaceful assembly and protest.”
It also called on the government to publish a “clear, transparent and time-bound payment schedule” for the settlement of the outstanding entitlements.
The rights group demanded an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the reported teargassing of the protesters and urged the government to make the outcome public.
“Security personnel must always remember that their primary responsibility is to protect the lives, dignity and rights of the people,” the CDHR said.
The organisation argued that Lagos, being one of Nigeria’s economically viable states, had no justification for allowing retirees to suffer hardship while awaiting their benefits, urging the state government to engage directly with representatives of the pensioners “without intimidation or harassment.”
The CDHR warned that failure to address the grievances of pensioners and the alleged use of force against them could undermine public confidence and the principles of social justice.
