Retired and serving officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have petitioned the Federal Government, demanding immediate exemption from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), the creation of a Police Pension Board (PPB), and the settlement of outstanding pension arrears.
The petition, dated September 20, 2025, was signed by Oloruntoba J. Y. Oyogua, Esq., DSP (Rtd.), alongside other representatives, and addressed to President Bola Tinubu, the leadership of the National Assembly, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Minister of Finance, and the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
According to the petitioners, the CPS has failed police retirees, leaving many in poverty and hardship. They argued that while the Military and Intelligence Agencies have been exempted from the scheme, the police were unjustly excluded.
The retirees also described as discriminatory the selective removal of senior officers, such as AIGs and IGPs, from the CPS, while commissioners and lower ranks remain trapped in the system.
They noted that despite public hearings by the 9th and 10th National Assemblies, where the majority of stakeholders supported police exit from the CPS, no executive approval has been granted.
They further accused PenCom of resisting their demand for total exemption, instead offering reforms they described as “diversionary tactics.”
The petition outlined three key demands:
(1) Complete exemption of the Nigeria Police Force from the CPS, in line with the Military, DSS, NIA, DIA, and NASS.
(2) Establishment of a Police Pension Board (PPB) to manage pensions and gratuities for police officers, similar to the Military Pension Board.
(3) Immediate payment of arrears due to retirees under Schedule 2 of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014, including 300% of terminal salary as gratuity and 80% of terminal salary as pension for all police retirees under the CPS since 2007.
The retirees warned that unless their demands are met, they will embark on an indefinite nationwide peaceful protest beginning September 29, 2025, at designated national institutions.
“This protest shall be peaceful, lawful, and sustained until justice is achieved,” the petition stated.
The officers stressed that both the Police and the Military are constitutionally mandated to safeguard Nigeria and therefore deserve equal treatment in welfare and pensions.
The agitation comes amid growing anger over the welfare of retired police officers, many of whom complain of receiving paltry pensions despite decades of service.
Previous demonstrations have been staged at the National Assembly and Force Headquarters, but promises of reform have yet to yield results.
