… Demand Exit From Pension Schem
Amid mounting frustration over what they describe as years of neglect and unfulfilled promises, thousands of retired police officers under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) have vowed to go ahead with a nationwide protest today, Monday, July 21, 2025, defying pleas by the Police Service Commission (PSC) to shelve the action.
The protesters, drawn from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, say their sole demand remains non-negotiable: immediate removal from the Contributory Pension Scheme and migration to the Defined Benefits Scheme enjoyed by senior officers.
Speaking in an interview with Daily Trust, the Chairman of the Police Officers Retirees on Contributory Pension Scheme in Kaduna State, Mannir Lawal, a retired Chief Superintendent of Police, said the group had mobilised extensively for today’s march to the National Assembly in Abuja.
“We are not going back,” Lawal declared. “Our leaders from the ranks of AIG to IG are not part of the Contributory Pension Scheme. But from Constable to Commissioner of Police, we are trapped in a system that is killing us in poverty and hopelessness.”
Lawal confirmed that retirees from Lagos, Bauchi, Gombe, Nasarawa, and Kwara states were already in Abuja, while others were en route. He stated emphatically that the group was no longer interested in promises or negotiations with the PSC.
“People are dying daily from avoidable hardship. Any form of negotiation is unacceptable unless we see money—alerts—hitting our accounts. No more promises!” he insisted.
This development comes days after the PSC urged the retirees to return to the negotiating table rather than disrupt public order. In a previous statement, the Commission emphasized its willingness to address grievances through dialogue and policy reform, but retirees argue that past dialogues have yielded nothing but dashed hopes.
The protesting officers accuse the government of operating a two-tier system of retirement benefits—one for the elite and another for the rank and file.
Earlier in June and again in early July, the group had issued warnings and protest threats if the Federal Government failed to act. The latest protest, they say, is not just a demonstration but a desperate cry for justice, as many of them wallow in poverty, unpaid benefits, and rising health crises.
Security agencies have been placed on alert in Abuja and across state capitals, with fears that the protest could spill into major roads and public facilities. Human rights groups and pension advocacy bodies have thrown their weight behind the retirees, calling the CPS “an unfair burden on men who risked their lives for national security.”
As of press time, efforts to get comments from the Police Service Commission and the Ministry of Police Affairs were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the retirees maintain that today’s protest is only the beginning of what could become a prolonged nationwide movement if their demands are not met.
“This is our last resort,” said another protester from Rivers State who simply gave his name as Sergeant Okonkwo. “We have served this country with blood and sweat. We deserve dignity, not poverty in retirement.”
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