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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Conflict & Security

PAY THE PREMIUM, SAVE THE HONOUR

From ThisDay · (6m ago) English Critical tone

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The Nigerian government has a long-standing failure to pay insurance premiums for military and police personnel, violating the Pension Reform Act 2014.
  • This negligence has left families of fallen officers without insurance cover, unable to claim benefits for years.
  • Reports indicate a backlog of unpaid claims stretching over a decade, affecting thousands of families and highlighting a severe lapse in financial protection for security personnel.

ThisDay unequivocally condemns the Federal Government's systemic failure to uphold its obligation to insure the lives of its soldiers and police officers. The principle of 'no premium, no cover' is the bedrock of insurance, yet the government has repeatedly violated this elementary rule by neglecting to pay premiums for its security personnel. This dereliction of duty means that when officers fall in the line of duty, their families are left destitute, denied the financial protection they are legally entitled to.

no premium, no cover

— REGINA UGBYIGBO ALACHIThe author states this as an elementary principle in insurance that should not need restating, highlighting the government's violation of this rule.

The Pension Reform Act 2014 mandates that employers maintain a Group Life Insurance Policy for employees, with premiums paid on time. However, both the Defence Headquarters and the Ministry of Police Affairs have failed spectacularly in their oversight roles. The evidence is damning: a 13-year backlog of unsettled insurance claims inherited by the current Inspector General of Police, and disclosures by his predecessor about the government's inability to fund these vital schemes due to funding gaps.

alarming 13-year backlog of unsettled insurance claims, stretching from 2010 to 2023

— Kayode EgbetokunThe former Inspector General of Police described the inherited backlog of insurance claims, illustrating the extent of the government's failure.

This is not merely a bureaucratic oversight; it is a profound betrayal of trust and a disregard for the ultimate sacrifice made by these men and women. The human cost is immense. Imagine the plight of a widow, struggling to feed her children after her husband was killed in action, only to be told that his insurance policy was never activated because the government failed to pay the premium. ThisDay calls for immediate rectification of this unacceptable situation, demanding that the government honor its commitments and provide the promised succor to the families of its fallen heroes. The honor of the nation is at stake.

due to paucity of funds, the federal government could not fund the Group Life Assurance and Group Personal Accident Insurance schemes successfully, creating gaps that led to a backlog of unpaid claims from 2012 to 2020

— Usman Alkali BabaThe predecessor to the current IGP disclosed the reasons behind the government's failure to pay premiums, citing a lack of funds.
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Originally published by ThisDay. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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