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Pension Crisis: Police Retirees Reject FG’s Healthcare Incentives, Demand Total Exit From CPS

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Despite new instructions from President Bola Tinubu to enhance their welfare, retired police personnel enrolled in the Contributory Pension Scheme have once again insisted on being completely removed from it.

On Wednesday, the President gave orders for the immediate launch of free healthcare services for low-income retirees under the CPS and also directed that overdue pension increases be implemented without delay.

He further tasked the Director General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, with urgently addressing the long-standing concerns around police pensions, emphasizing that those who served the country deserve to retire with respect and a sense of security.

While the retirees acknowledged the President’s gesture, they maintained that only a full withdrawal from the scheme would suffice.

“We are very happy that our cries have reached the President, and we appreciate his directives.

However, what we want is our outright exit from the scheme. If we remain under CPS, we will still remain caged,” said Buba Danjuma, spokesperson for the retirees.

In recent months, retired police personnel under the CPS have staged several demonstrations, including a protest on July 21, 2025, when they blocked the entrance to the Force Headquarters in Abuja, demanding to leave the scheme.

Tinubu’s Wednesday directive included the rollout of healthcare benefits and an increase in pensions for retirees in the CPS category.

According to a statement released by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the move is part of a broader plan to strengthen the administration’s social protection efforts.

“The President directed the expedited rollout of the free healthcare initiative for low-income retirees under the CPS, and called for the immediate implementation of pension increases and a minimum pension guarantee,” the statement said.

Tinubu also told PenCom to address all outstanding issues related to police pensions, underscoring that officers who ensured national security should retire with dignity.

The PenCom DG had earlier updated the President on steps being taken to preserve the value of pension funds, particularly in light of inflation and economic challenges, as well as new plans to allow foreign currency contributions so Nigerians abroad can join the pension program.

“President Tinubu strongly supported the reforms, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to inclusive growth and protection for ordinary Nigerians.

During the briefing, the DG updated the President on a suite of transformative pension initiatives to enhance retiree welfare and expand the Pension Scheme’s reach,” the statement said.

After the announcement, Danjuma welcomed the intervention but reiterated that their demand remains full withdrawal from the scheme.

He pointed to other agencies, such as the Department of State Services and the military, which have exited the CPS, and questioned why police retirees should be treated differently.

“The DSS and military have all left and didn’t bother to remain under the CPS because of its many disadvantages. Why should we remain?

We appreciate the President, but we want him to do everything possible to get us out of the scheme. We don’t want to remain there anymore,” he said.

BIG STORY

37-Year-Old American Nicholas Giroux Jailed For Life Over Murder Of Nigerian boxer Olugbemi

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A 37-year-old man, Nicholas Giroux, has been sentenced to life imprisonment plus an additional 20 years for killing Nigerian-American boxer, Isaiah Olugbemi, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

According to the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office, Giroux received the sentence on Friday from Judge Richard Trunnell after pleading guilty to first-degree murder and use of a firearm in a violent crime. The prison terms will run consecutively.

Olugbemi, 27, a father and highly regarded amateur boxer, was shot several times by Giroux on June 17, 2024, along Meadowmist Way in Odenton. He later died from his injuries at the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

Surveillance video revealed Giroux approaching Olugbemi, firing multiple rounds until he collapsed, and then discharging three more shots before fleeing. Police later recovered 9mm casings from the crime scene.

Investigators noted that Giroux had previously confronted Olugbemi and a neighbour at a cookout about two weeks earlier, where he displayed a firearm, though he did not fire it at that time.

Following the shooting, Giroux confessed during interrogation and directed authorities to the location of the gun he used.

Describing the murder, State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess called it “cruel and senseless,” stressing that the victim had a bright future in boxing.

“Mr. Olugbemi was a father and a rising star in amateur boxing. The callousness and lack of remorse on the part of this Defendant is really disturbing. He deserves this sentence. And to the family and friends of Mr. Olugbemi, I hope that today provides some sense of justice for this terrible ordeal,” Leitess said.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Carolynn Grammas, with homicide detectives from the Anne Arundel County Police Department leading the investigation.

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40-Year-Old US-Based Nigerian Daniel Chima Risks 20-Year Jail Term Over ‘$405,000 Romance Scam’

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Daniel Chima Inweregbu, a 40-year-old Nigerian, has pleaded guilty to multiple fraud charges in the United States, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

US prosecutors said Inweregbu conspired to commit mail and wire fraud, while also using a false identity to carry out a romance scam that ran from July 2017 to December 2018.

The scheme, which cost victims over $405,000, involved Inweregbu and his partners contacting Americans through email and messaging platforms. They pretended to be “Larry Pham,” built online romantic relationships, and then tricked victims into sending money to bank accounts they controlled.

Once received, the funds were laundered through intermediaries to conceal their source, ownership, and movement, the DOJ added.

According to court filings:

  • Count 1 carries up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.
  • Count 12 also carries up to 20 years in prison, with a fine of up to $500,000.
  • He must also pay a mandatory $100 special assessment fee for each count.

Sentencing has been fixed for December 4, 2025, before Judge Brown.

This is not Inweregbu’s first conviction. In December 2020, a Federal High Court in Lagos sentenced him to 18 months in prison (with an option of a ₦300,000 fine) for a similar romance scam. He was also ordered to refund $15,000 to the US Consulate.

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BIG STORY

Most Trump Tariffs Are Illegal, US Court Rules

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A US appeals court has ruled that most of former President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs are unconstitutional.

Back in April, Trump announced global tariffs on all imports into the United States, including a 14% levy on Nigerian goods. Since then, he has alternated between rolling back some measures and intensifying others.

Trump had argued that the tariffs were legally justified under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which empowers the president to act against “unusual and extraordinary” threats.

But in a 7–4 ruling, the Washington appeals court disagreed, holding that Trump exceeded his authority. The judges noted that the IEEPA “neither mentions tariffs (or any of its synonyms) nor has procedural safeguards that contain clear limits on the president’s power to impose tariffs.”

However, the panel stopped short of cancelling the tariffs outright, leaving room for a potential appeal before the US Supreme Court.

Reacting on Truth Social, Trump insisted his tariffs remain intact:
“ALL TARIFFS ARE STILL IN EFFECT!”

“If these Tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the Country. It would make us financially weak, and we have to be strong,” he wrote.

The former president also expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would eventually uphold his tariff policies.

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