Retired police officers blocked Gate 8 of the Presidential Villa in Abuja on April 20, 2026, demanding President Bola Tinubu sign a bill to withdraw the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme.
The protest, led by the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF), follows the National Assembly’s passage of the Police Exit Bill on December 4, 2025, and its transmission to the presidency on March 16, 2026. Retirees argue the scheme is fraudulent, illegal, inhumane, and obnoxious, calling it a “slavery and untimely death-inducing” system.
CSP Raphael Irowainu, PROF’s National Coordinator, said other security agencies — including the Army, Navy, Air Force, SSS, and NIA — have already been exited from the scheme, leaving the police as the only uniformed service still trapped.
“The soldiers have been exited, the SSS has been exited, the Air Force has been exited, the Navy has been exited, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has been exited. The police, who are the father of them all, are trapped in this obnoxious Contributory Pension Scheme,” Irowainu told reporters.
Protesters carried placards reading “End CPS” and “If military, DSS were removed from PENCOM, why not police?” although chanting, “Police dey work, PenCom dey chop.” Many lay on mats in front of the gate, accompanied by spouses and children, refusing to exit until they saw the president.
Villa security personnel attempted to dissuade the demonstrators, but their efforts failed as protesters insisted on direct engagement with Tinubu. As of the time of reporting, no presidential representative had addressed the crowd.
A retired ASP, Nurudeen Dahiru, said in a video posted by Channels Television that after 35 years of service, he cannot afford to feed his family. “We have no food to eat. We are dying. Silent killing. So this contributory pension scheme is a killer disease,” he stated.
Another retiree noted receiving only ₦24,000 monthly ($15.50) since retiring two decades ago, calling it insufficient to cover basic needs or housing. “How can an ASP, a DSP, a CP retire and they are paying him how much? No, no, no. Enough is enough,” he said.
The protest coincides with a nationwide mobilization called for April 20 by Mannir Lawal, chairman of police retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme, who leads a rival faction distancing itself from PROF. Lawal claims his group is the “original agitator,” having protested for over 15 years.
Lawal said his faction dissociated from the splinter group after its October 14–November 29 protest failed to secure legislative engagement. He accused the rival group of poor attendance and causing confusion, adding that his members proceeded independently after consulting across 35 states.
He noted that despite earlier talks with the Inspector-General of Police in December, progress stalled, prompting the April 20 action. “We met with him earlier, and he requested we grant him time since he just resumed. Now, we have no business with IG because our issue is with the President,” Lawal said.
Lawal emphasized that the protest targets the federal government, not police leadership, and vowed to avoid repeating the failures of the 9th Assembly, when pension reforms stalled despite prolonged agitation.
The rival faction, which Lawal dismissed as having only a tiny following, had also protested earlier in April but lacked the scale and coordination of the PROF-led demonstration at the Villa.
As of the close of business on April 20, the Police Exit Bill remained unsigned, leaving retirees in limbo over delayed and irregular pension payments under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
Why are police retirees protesting now?
They are demanding President Tinubu sign the Police Exit Bill passed by the National Assembly in December 2025 to remove the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme, which they say leaves them with inadequate and unreliable pensions after decades of service.
What makes the police protest different from other security agencies?
While the Army, Navy, Air Force, SSS, and NIA have already been exited from the Contributory Pension Scheme, the police remain the only uniformed service still enrolled, which retirees describe as unjust and discriminatory.
How much are some retirees receiving under the current scheme?
Some retirees report receiving as little as ₦24,000 per month ($15.50), which they say is insufficient to cover basic needs like food, medicine, or housing after 20 to 35 years of service.
Is there division among the retirees’ groups?
Yes, two factions exist: the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF), which led the Villa protest, and a rival group led by Mannir Lawal, which claims to be the original agitator and organized a nationwide protest for April 20, accusing PROF of splintering the movement.