President Buhari approves payment of pension to former Biafra police

President Muhammadu Buhari approved payment of Biafra policemen
- They were dismissed at the end of the Biafra war
- They were pardoned during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the payment of pension to police officers who served
It was announced that about 162 of such retired police officers and 57 Next of Kin will be paid their benefits in the first phase which kicks off this month.
The police officers were granted presidential pardon in 2000.
The statement read:“The general public would recall that Nigeria witnessed an ugly civil war between July, 1967 and January, 1970 and as a result of that unfortunate period in our history, some members of the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police and paramilitary officers who took part with the Secessionist were dismissed from the service.
“The dismissal of those officers was commuted to retirement in the year 2000 through a Presidential Amnesty granted on 29th May, 2000 by the Administration of the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo.
“A verification exercise was conducted for the pardoned officers by the defunct Police Pension Office and recently PTAD on one hand and the Police Service Commission on the other
Despite the Presidential pardon and verification of these officers, many of them remained unpaid years after the pardon. However, the present administration under the able leadership of President, Muhammadu Buhari has graciously given approval for the payment of pension entitlements to these officers and their Next of Kin.
“PTAD is commencing the payment of pension benefits to the retired war affected police officers on Friday October 20, 2017 in Enugu. 162 officers will be payrolled and 57 Next of Kin who have also not been paid their death benefits will be paid in the first batch.”
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Kanu, a young brother to the leader of Independent Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu denied a report that accused him of being behind the recent Monkey Pox vaccine hoax in the southeast region of the country.
In a statement sent to NAIJ.com, Emmanuel Kanu described the group as faceless, adding that the leader of the group was blind to the activities of IPOB.
Biafra Security Service (BSS) inaugurated by IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu -