On August 15, 1970, the Federal Government under Gen. Yakubu Gowon enacted Decree 46 and dismissed hundreds of police officers and men who served in the defunct Biafran Police during the Nigerian Civil War following the end of the 30-month civil war in January.
It was gathered that the decree was aimed at reintegrating the former Biafran region and re-establishing federal authority.
However, President Olusegun Obasanjo announced the amnesty on May 29, 2000, commuted their dismissal to retirement and paved the way for payment of pension and gratuity.
According to records, the May 29, 2000 amnesty abrogated Decree 46 and covered war-affected police officers from the South-East and South-South zones, whether dead or alive.
Records also showed that the status of affected officers was converted from dismissal to retirement and benefits were computed based on the rank held at dismissal, with officers deemed eligible as at that date.
Despite the amnesty, many of the affected officers waited years before receiving any benefits. A verification exercise was conducted by the defunct Police Pension Office and later by the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, PTAD.
In 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the commencement of pension payments.
PTAD said 162 officers would be pay-rolled and 57 next-of-kin who had not received death benefits would be paid in the first batch, with payments starting in Enugu.
