Retired police officers protest at Presidential Villa, say contributory pension scheme is ‘slavery’

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 Nigerian and police flags, along with placards bearing several inscriptions. They also walked through the police headquarters in Abuja, chanting different solidarity songs and 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 Tinubu to establish a 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 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, that 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.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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