BREAKING: Protesting Retired Police Officers Occupy National Assembly Over Pension Scheme, Give Tinubu Fresh Ultimatum

SaharaReporters learnt that the aggrieved protesters who are currently at the National Assembly gate, are calling on President Bola Tinubu to sign the Police Exit Bill into law without further delay.

Retired police officers under the aegis of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria are protesting at the National Assembly over the “miserable” pension scheme and the Federal Government’s foot-dragging on removing the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

SaharaReporters learnt that the aggrieved protesters who are currently at the National Assembly gate, are calling on President Bola Tinubu to sign the Police Exit Bill into law without further delay.

A video clip of the protest SaharaReporters obtained, shows the retired police personnel with their family members, adorned in a blue T-shirt and face cap matching to towards the National Assembly gate. 

They were carrying banner and placards, while chanting – “President Bola Tinubu signing our bill.”

SaharaReporters gathered that the aggrieved retirees, who have been on an indefinite protest, had on Monday occupied the National Pension Commission (PenCom) Headquarters in Abuja for about seven hours, demanding that the Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, stop meddling with a Bill already passed into law by the National Assembly.

“During the protest at the PenCom, the Commission’s Secretary and legal adviser, Hon Mohamed Sani addressed the protesters on behalf of the Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran,” one of the protesters told SaharaReporters. “He said that we should be calm that the DG is working hard to improve their retirement benefits.”

However, the protesters insisted they want to exit the Contributory Pension Scheme entirely, warning the PenCom DG to stop interfering with the assent of the Bill before the President.

The leader of the forum, CSP Raphael I. Irowainu (retd.), while addressing journalists, maintained that their continued protest was to prevail on President Bola Tinubu to assent to the bill passed on December 4, 2025.

“The reason why we were at the PenCom office was because of the role the DG PenCom had been playing on the police exit bill in conjunction with the police management team. They have vowed that we will not exit from the police contributory pension scheme,” he said.

The latest escalation follows a previous report by SaharaReporters on October 6, where the retirees vowed to continue their protest indefinitely until President Tinubu assents to the bill seeking to exempt the Nigeria Police Force from the CPS.

The National Coordinator of the forum, Irowainu, had disclosed this in an exclusive interview with SaharaReporters, saying the renewed protest began on September 29 and would continue until the Federal Government addresses their demand.

He accused the Federal Government of contributing to the country’s worsening insecurity by failing to address what he described as poor pension conditions for retired police officers.

“The major crux of our agitation is for the Nigerian Police Force to be exempted from the slavery and exploitative Contributory Pension Scheme,” Irowainu said.

According to him, the pension scheme was introduced in 2004, while the military, Department of State Services, National Intelligence Agency and National Assembly were later exempted following protests over poor pension benefits. He lamented that the police were left under the scheme despite their role as the country’s lead internal security agency.

Irowainu alleged that police retirees receive inadequate lump-sum payments and low monthly pensions after decades of service.

He cited figures showing that retired Assistant Superintendents of Police receive between about N2.1m and N2.5m as lump sums, with monthly pensions of about N25,000, while Deputy Superintendents allegedly receive between N2.2m and N2.4m and about N30,000 monthly.

He said Superintendents receive about N2.5m to N2.8m and between N35,000 and N40,000 monthly, while Chief Superintendents allegedly receive about N3.5m and between N39,000 and N45,000 monthly.

For higher ranks, he said Assistant Commissioners receive between N5m and N6m and about N50,000 to N57,000 monthly, while Deputy Commissioners allegedly receive N6m to N7m and about N60,000 monthly. Commissioners of Police, he added, allegedly receive between N7m and N9m as lump sums and N90,000 to N100,000 monthly.

“These are what they are paying us. And that is why I said, Nigerian Police is the lead internal security of this country as expressed in Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended,” he said.

Irowainu said the retirees began protesting over the matter in September 2025 and alleged that the pension exemption bill was delayed before eventually being transmitted to the President on March 16, 2026.

He claimed that the National Assembly passed the bill on December 4, 2025, but that its transmission was delayed for several months. According to him, the retirees subsequently staged protests at the Presidential Villa in April after the President had not assented to the bill.

He said assurances that the matter would be resolved led them to suspend the protest, but that no action followed. He added that another intervention by the Inspector-General of Police in August also failed to produce a resolution.

“From 6th of August till on the 29th of September that we resumed this protest again, nothing was done, that’s why we reactivated the protest,” he said.

Irowainu said the protesters visited the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Police Affairs during their latest demonstrations.

The retired officer also claimed that more than 20 members of the group had died in the past six months, allegedly after struggling to afford medical treatment.

“The police in the last six months, we have lost over 20 retirees as a result of lack of fund to take care of their medical needs,” he alleged, adding that the group was compiling the names of deceased members for publication.

Irowainu also linked the pension situation to the morale of serving police officers, alleging that some officers resort to unprofessional conduct because of concerns about their financial future after retirement.

“These death pension they are paying us have made them to involve in a lot of unprofessional act like extortion, intimidation, in order to get money for themselves,” he said. “If you go to station now, you go to police officer today, they will not answer you. If you don’t put money on ground, they will not follow you.”

The retired officer expressed frustration that the President had not publicly explained his failure to assent to the bill.

“Even from March 16 till today, the President has not uttered a single statement. Even when we went to the Presidential Villa to have blocked the gate, they only sent the subordinate to promise us that within two weeks, they will resolve the problem,” he said. “As we speak today, the President has not uttered a single statement on why he decided not to assent the bill.”

Irowainu alleged that officials of the National Pension Commission had opposed the exemption, citing comments he attributed to its Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran. He claimed Oloworaran had opposed the proposal during a National Assembly public hearing and had previously argued that removing the police from the scheme could have serious implications for the Nigerian economy. He also alleged that PenCom officials benefit from the existing arrangement, but provided no independent evidence to substantiate the allegation.

“It is an injustice that we will never accept,” Irowainu said.

He said the retirees would continue with their demonstrations until the President either assents to the bill or otherwise addresses their concerns.

“Tomorrow, October 7, by the grace of God, we are going to the Ministry of Finance. From Ministry of Finance, we are going to Police Service Commission, we are going to US Embassy,” he said.

He added that the forum had identified 10 locations for the planned demonstrations, including the international airport.

Irowainu said the protesters wanted Nigerians and the international community to understand their position that the welfare of police officers, both serving and retired, was directly connected to the country’s internal security.