BREAKING: Police Launch Roll-Call Strategy to Identify Officers Backing Planned Protest Over Poor Welfare

The Nigerian Police Force has reportedly launched a covert internal measure to suppress dissent ahead of a scheduled nationwide protest by officers over poor welfare and pensions on July 21.

According to reports, police leadership is preparing to distribute a compulsory roll-call register across commands nationwide. Officers will be required to sign daily before leaving duty posts a move allegedly aimed at tracking those sympathetic to the protest movement.

One frustrated officer, questioning the legitimacy of the directive, said:

“Can I refuse to sign? We are tired of this bad leadership.”

This follows the recent arrest of Inspector Emoruwa Olabode, attached to the Idanre Police Station in Ondo State. He was allegedly targeted for his involvement in a WhatsApp group conversation related to the protest.

He has since been transferred to Abuja by operatives from the Ondo State Commissioner of Police’s office, marking a significant escalation in the crackdown.

His wife confirmed that the family has been left in distress since his arrest, with their sick child unable to receive proper care due to Olabode’s inability to send funds.

“They took his phone and haven’t allowed him to send money. Our child is seriously ill,” she said.

Two other administrators of the protest-linked WhatsApp group Otamere Ewamade (“Hero”) and Fasoyin Ayodeji were reportedly detained in Lagos over two weeks ago and are being held by the Force Intelligence Department in Abuja.

At the center of the unrest is the long-standing grievance over the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), which officers claim has led to years of financial hardship, delays in payments, and a lack of dignity in retirement. Reports of depression, premature deaths, and growing discontent within the ranks have continued to mount.

Rising concern over the heavy-handed response by police authorities has raised alarm among rights groups and civil society advocates, who warn that this repression could deepen morale issues in the already strained force.