Public affairs commentator Frank Tietie has accused Nigeria of creating a system that leaves police officers trapped in hardship even after years of service.
Tietie made the remark on Wednesday the 4th of March, 2026, while speaking during an interview programme on Arise Television.
He spoke on the welfare conditions faced by members of the Nigeria Police Force, describing the situation as deeply troubling.
“For a long time, it is as though the policing system is made to keep the police poor so they can be controlled by the government.
“Men and women in Nigeria Police Force are suffering. I think there’s something I have noticed about seven retired policemen. They seem to be ashamed to talk about how much they are suffering.
“When I was assigned this discussion, and I had to dust off a number of things, that was where my tears even began, because I now realize that we will have been such a wicked country to ourselves by the way we have treated our policemen.
“Nigeria has programmed them with poverty and to die in such penury. You heard what one of them said, if you did not die in service, go and die of hunger.
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“For a very long time, it’s as if the policing system is to make the policeman poor so that it can be easily controlled by the government. That’s what I discovered. It’s unfortunate,” he said.
Tietie said his review of the challenges facing both serving and retired officers left him shocked by the level of neglect experienced by many of them.
He noted that several retired officers struggle to speak openly about their conditions, despite the difficulties they face after leaving active service.
The analyst also stressed that the welfare concerns surrounding police personnel reflect broader problems within the country’s policing structure.
According to him, the situation raises serious questions about how the country treats those responsible for maintaining law and order.