Retired officers of the Nigeria Police Force, operating under the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF), staged a protest at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sign into law the Police Exit Bill passed by the National Assembly in December 2025.
The bill seeks to remove the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), a system the retirees described as unjust and detrimental to their welfare.
Braving intense heat, the protesters marched from the Three Arms Zone through the road leading to the Force Headquarters, carrying placards with various messages, alongside the Nigerian flag and that of the police.
Led by National Coordinator CSP Raphael Irowainu, the group criticised the continued inclusion of police personnel in the CPS, describing it as fraudulent, inhumane, and exploitative. They said their demonstration was aimed at urging the President to give assent to the bill, which was passed on December 4, 2025, and forwarded to him on March 16, 2026.
According to the protesters, signing the bill into law would fully exempt police personnel from what they termed a “slavery and untimely death-inducing pension scheme.”
The demonstrators, joined by some family members, blocked Gate 8 of the Presidential Villa, disrupting vehicular movement. Security personnel at the Villa were unable to disperse them, as the retirees insisted on meeting with the President. Some protesters spread mats on the ground, sang solidarity songs, while others lay on the road in protest.
As of the time of filing this report, no government official had addressed the group.
Speaking during the protest, CSP Irowainu reiterated that their primary demand was the President’s assent to the Police Exit Bill. He expressed concern that while other security agencies such as the Army, Navy, Air Force, Department of State Services, and the National Intelligence Agency had been removed from the CPS, police personnel remained under the scheme.
He stated that the continued inclusion of the police in the pension system was unacceptable, given their critical role in national security.
This is not the first time retired police officers have protested against the CPS. In July 2025, they demonstrated at the National Assembly and later at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, demanding their removal from the scheme.
At the time, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, acknowledged concerns over retirees’ welfare but noted that exiting the CPS could not be implemented immediately. He also cautioned protest leaders against spreading misinformation, assuring that the Force remained committed to the well-being of its personnel.
Retired Police Officers Storm Presidential Villa, Demand Tinubu’s Assent to Police Exit Bill
