Fresh pressure is mounting on President Bola Tinubu to approve the bill removing personnel of the Nigeria Police Force(NPF) from the Contributory Pension Scheme, with retired police officers embarking on a nationwide protest until the legislation is signed into law.
The retirees, operating under the umbrella of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria, said they had rejected all alternative pension proposals, including the proposed “Option B,” insisting that only a complete exit from the Contributory Pension Scheme would end what they described as years of hardship suffered by former officers.
The planned demonstration, tagged “No Retreat, No Surrender,” is expected to intensify the growing campaign by retired police personnel, who argue that thousands of their colleagues have been plunged into poverty, ill health and premature deaths despite decades of service to the nation.
In a letter dated July 3, 2026, and addressed to the Inspector-General of Police, the forum urged the police chief to personally prevail on President Tinubu to grant presidential assent to the bill, which it said had already been passed by both chambers of the National Assembly.
The letter, signed by the forum’s National Coordinator, CSP Raphael I. Irowainu (retd.), and National Secretary, Dr. Enyi Nnaemezie Ignatius, described the welfare of retired police officers as a national emergency requiring urgent presidential intervention.
“The present condition of many retired police officers is painful and distressing. After dedicating the most productive years of their lives to safeguarding Nigeria, many retirees can no longer afford basic necessities, including healthcare,” the forum said.
The retirees argued that the current pension arrangement has left many former officers unable to meet their basic needs, with increasing reports of sickness, financial hardship and deaths among retirees.
They also dismissed the proposed “Option B” pension arrangement, saying it falls short of addressing their core demand for the total removal of the Police from the Contributory Pension Scheme.
The forum maintained that police officers remain the only major security personnel still subjected to the pension scheme, while members of the Armed Forces, the Department of State Services, the National Intelligence Agency and other strategic institutions operate separate pension structures.
According to the retirees, extending similar treatment to police personnel is a matter of fairness and recognition of the sacrifices officers make in protecting lives and property.
The forum appealed to the Inspector-General to throw his weight behind the campaign, saying history would remember him as the police chief who secured financial dignity for serving and retired officers if the President assents to the bill during his tenure.
Despite the planned nationwide protest, the retirees insisted that their demonstrations would be peaceful and conducted within the limits of the law, describing the campaign as a constitutional struggle for justice rather than a confrontation with the Federal Government.
Copies of the letter were forwarded to President Tinubu, Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, the Minister of Police Affairs, the National Security Adviser, the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, the Director-General of the Department of State Services, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission, the 36 state governors and other senior government and security officials.