**Say ex-officers are dying in poverty after serving Nigeria
A nationwide showdown is looming between retired police officers and the Federal Government as thousands of former personnel have concluded plans for a coordinated peaceful protest to pressure President Bola Tinubu to sign the bill removing the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
The retirees, operating under the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF), said the protest—codenamed “No Retreat, No Surrender”—would continue until the President assents to what they described as the Police Pension Total Exit Bill, arguing that the current pension system has condemned many ex-officers to hunger, sickness and premature death.
In a July 3, 2026 letter to the Inspector-General of Police, the forum appealed to the police chief to personally prevail on President Tinubu to approve the legislation, which it said had already secured passage in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The retirees insisted that only the President’s signature now stands between thousands of former police officers and what they described as long-awaited pension justice.
Signed by the forum’s National Coordinator, CSP Raphael I. Irowainu (Rtd.), and National Secretary, Dr. Enyi Nnaemezie Ignatius, the letter painted a bleak picture of life after retirement, saying many officers who spent decades protecting Nigerians now struggle to survive.
“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.”
According to the forum, worsening poverty, ill-health and increasing deaths among retired officers demonstrate the failure of the Contributory Pension Scheme to adequately cater for police personnel.
The retirees said the Inspector-General had earlier assured them that their concerns would be transmitted to President Tinubu and urged him to intensify efforts to ensure the bill receives presidential assent.
They also distanced themselves from the proposed “Option B” being championed by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), dismissing it as an inadequate compromise that would merely prolong the suffering of retired officers.
The forum argued that police officers remain the only major security service still trapped under the Contributory Pension Scheme, while members of the Armed Forces, the Department of State Services (DSS), the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and employees of the National Assembly operate under separate pension arrangements.
It maintained that removing the police from the CPS would correct a longstanding injustice and place officers on equal footing with other security agencies performing similar national duties.
Appealing directly to the Inspector-General, the retirees said history would remember him as the police chief who restored dignity and financial security to serving and retired officers if the bill is signed into law during his tenure.
While vowing not to back down, the forum stressed that the planned nationwide protest would remain peaceful, lawful and focused solely on securing justice for retired police personnel.
Copies of the letter were sent to President Bola 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 DSS, the Director-General of PenCom, all 36 state governors, Commissioners of Police and other top government and security officials.