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Nigeria’s retired police officers under the umbrella of the Police Retired Officers Forum have suspended a planned national protest at the Presidential Villa to allow the newly appointed Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to intervene and engage President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on assent to the Police Exit Bill currently awaiting presidential approval.

The group said the protest, initially scheduled to begin on March 24, 2026, has been suspended for two weeks until April 10, 2026, to give the police chief time to use his office and “strategic relationship” with the President to prevail on him to sign the bill into law.

In a statement made available to SaharaReporters and signed by its National Coordinator, Raphael Irowainu, the forum said the decision followed a meeting between the Inspector-General of Police and the group’s leadership at the Louis Edet House, Force Headquarters, Abuja.

“We have unanimously decided in our wisdom to suspend the National Peaceful Protest at the Presidential Villa… to enable him use his exalted office and his strategic relationship with the President to appeal and prevail on him to unconditionally give assent to the Police Exit Bill that is currently on his table,” the statement read.

The retirees said signing the bill was necessary “in the interest of the gravely exploited and dehumanized police retirees and the terribly demoralized serving police officers across the nation and above all, in the interest of our national security.”

They added that letters of appeal and protest notification had already been dispatched to the President and other senior government officials.

However, the group warned that failure to sign the bill on or before April 10 would trigger an indefinite nationwide protest, including occupation of the Presidential Villa.

“If the President fails to give assent to our bill… we shall commence the indefinite national peaceful protest tagged ‘No Retreat, No Surrender’ on April 11, 2026, and we shall converge at the Presidential Villa with our families and remain there until the President signs our bill into law,” the retirees said.

The forum alleged that misleading information regarding the economic implications of exiting the contributory pension scheme was being circulated by officials of the National Pension Commission.

They described the current pension arrangement as exploitative and unjust, insisting that the scheme has left retired officers in poverty.

“A situation where the least paid workers in PenCom receive a minimum of ₦1.5 million monthly while retired police officers after 35 years of meritorious service receive peanuts is totally unacceptable. This is inhumanity of man to man,” the statement said.

The retirees detailed what they described as the current payment structure under the Contributory Pension Scheme, noting that:

“Commissioners of Police receive lump sum of about ₦12 million with monthly pension of ₦120,000; Deputy Commissioners get about ₦11 million lump sum and ₦110,000 monthly; Assistant Commissioners receive about ₦10 million lump sum and ₦100,000 monthly.

“Chief Superintendents receive between ₦3 million and ₦4 million lump sum with ₦50,000 monthly pension; Superintendents receive between ₦3 million and ₦3.5 million lump sum with ₦40,000 monthly; Deputy Superintendents receive ₦2 million to ₦2.5 million lump sum and ₦30,000 monthly.

“Assistant Superintendents receive ₦1.5 million to ₦2 million lump sum and ₦25,000 monthly pension, while Inspectors receive between ₦1 million and ₦1.5 million lump sum with ₦20,000 monthly.”

The group argued that such payments condemn retirees to hardship.

“With this kind of pension arrangement, police officers are designed to wallow in abject poverty in their post-retirement life and ultimately die untimely,” they said.

They maintained that exiting the Contributory Pension Scheme is non-negotiable, pointing out that other security agencies operate outside the scheme.

“Like we used to say, the total exit of the Nigeria Police Force from the slavery contributory pension scheme like their counterparts in the military, DSS and other agencies is not negotiable,” the statement added.

The retirees further stressed that improving welfare for police personnel was essential to national security.

“Without fixing the problem of the police, Nigeria’s internal security problems can never be fixed. The time to fix the Nigeria Police is now. Enough is enough,” the group said.

They urged all retired officers nationwide to remain on standby for possible mobilization if the President fails to sign the bill within the stipulated timeframe, while expressing hope that the intervention of the Inspector-General would yield a positive outcome.