Retired police officers staged a protest on Monday at the presidential villa in Abuja, demanding their withdrawal from the contributory pension scheme. 

The retired officers, under the aegis of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria, called on President Bola Tinubu to sign into law the Police Pension Board Bill passed by the National Assembly in December 2025. 

The protesters were seen holding the Nigerian and police flags, along with placards bearing several inscriptions. They also walked through the police headquarters in Abuja, chanting different solidarity songs.

The protesters also blocked Gate 8 leading into the presidential villa, obstructing vehicular movement in the area.

One of the protesters described the contributory pension scheme as a form of slavery in light of current economic realities, urging Mr Tinubu to establish them into the police pension board.

“I was a DSP and retired in 2024. We’re here today to appeal to our father, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, not forcing or ordering you, to exit us from the contributory pension. It is not a contributory pension but a contributory slavery.

“We have been enslaved for long. We want you to use your office to exit us from this contributory pension. You can imagine a DSP who goes home with N30,000 per month. In this economy, what can N30,000 do? We can’t even take ourselves, our children or our husbands to hospitals. Please, we’re begging you to establish us in the Nigerian police pension board,” the protester said.

Monday’s protest came after retired police officers in July 2025 took to the streets of the National Assembly and police headquarters to demand their removal from the contributory pension scheme. 

The then Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, addressed the protesters and assured them that their welfare would be taken care of.

In December last year, the Senate passed the Nigeria Police Force Pension Board Bill, which aimed to boost the welfare of the police force and align the NPF with other major security agencies, such as the Military and Intelligence Services, which manage their pensions under a Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS).

The legislation was designed to pave the way for the establishment of an independent, dedicated pension management body for police personnel, thereby effectively removing the force from the contributory pension scheme.