Police retirees besiege Aso Rock, demand immediate exit from contributory pension scheme

Tension flared in Abuja on Monday as scores of retired personnel of the Nigeria Police Force stormed one of the gates of the Presidential Villa, calling for urgent government intervention over what they described as a deepening pension crisis.

The visibly aggrieved retirees blocked access to the gate for several hours, chanting solidarity songs and carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Police dey work, PenCom dey chop” and “We want justice now.”

The demonstrators accused the authorities of neglect and demanded their immediate removal from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), which they claimed has left many of them impoverished after decades of service.

The protesters specifically appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to assent to the proposed Police Exit Bill, which seeks to exempt police personnel from the CPS.

According to them, several other security and paramilitary agencies have already been granted exemptions, leaving retired police officers at a disadvantage.

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Speaking during the protest, some of the retirees lamented that monthly pension payments under the scheme are inadequate and inconsistent, making it difficult for them to meet basic needs, including healthcare and housing.

They argued that the nature of police work — which often involves high-risk assignments and limited opportunities for supplementary income — justifies a different pension structure.

The Contributory Pension Scheme, managed by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), was introduced as part of pension reforms aimed at ensuring transparency and sustainability.

However, the retired officers insist that the system has failed to reflect the peculiarities of police service and has subjected them to financial hardship in retirement.

The retirees warned that their protest would continue if their demands are not addressed, stressing that they had exhausted other channels of engagement before resorting to public demonstration.

They urged the federal government to treat their grievances with urgency and fairness.
Security operatives were deployed around the Villa to maintain order, but the protest remained largely peaceful at the time of filing this report.