Retired personnel of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), under the aegis of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF), yesterday, staged a protest in Abuja, demanding the removal of the police from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
The demonstrators, joined by family members and supporters, blocked one of the gates leading to the Presidential Villa, calling on President Bola Tinubu to urgently assent to the Police Exit Bill.
The protesters described the CPS as “fraudulent, illegal, inhumane, and obnoxious,” insisting that it has subjected retired police officers to hardship and uncertainty after years of service to the nation.
Leading the protest was Raphael Irowainu, the national coordinator of PROF, who said the group’s primary objective was to ensure the President signs the bill into law without further delay.
According to him, the bill—passed by the National Assembly on December 4, 2025, and transmitted to the presidency on March 16, 2026—seeks to exempt police personnel from the CPS, which he described as detrimental to their welfare.
“Our major aim here is to prevail on President Bola Tinubu to sign our bill into law, nothing more than that,” Irowainu said while addressing journalists at the protest ground.
He argued that other security agencies, including the military, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian Air Force, the Nigerian Navy, and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), had already been removed from the scheme, leaving the police as the only major security institution still under the CPS.
“The police, who are the father of them all, are trapped in this obnoxious Contributory Pension Scheme,” he added.
The protest marks the latest in a series of demonstrations by retired police officers, who have consistently opposed their inclusion in the pension scheme. Last year, the group staged prolonged protests at the National Assembly complex, demanding legislative intervention.
Their agitation reportedly drew the attention of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who assured the retirees that the Senate would align with the House of Representatives to facilitate the passage of the bill.
In a statement issued by his media aide, Akpabio was quoted as describing the CPS policy as “not well thought out,” noting that it had imposed undue hardship on police personnel who risk their lives to safeguard the country.
He expressed confidence that President Tinubu, whom he described as “a listening president,” would sign the legislation into law, adding that the scheme is “certainly not good for security personnel.”
The retired officers, however, vowed to sustain their protests until their demands are met, warning that continued delay in signing the bill could further worsen the plight of thousands of retired police personnel across the country.
