Hundreds of retired police officers and their families, under the umbrella of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF), staged a high-stakes protest at the Presidential Villa gate in Abuja on Monday. 

The demonstrators, who blocked one of the main entrances to the seat of power, issued a stark political ultimatum to President Bola Tinubu: assent to the Police Exit Bill immediately or face a total boycott at the polls.

The retirees are demanding an immediate exit from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), which they labeled as “fraudulent, illegal, and inhumane.” According to the protesters, the current scheme has left many former officers in a state of penury and “untimely death,” while their counterparts in the Military, DSS, and NIA have already been transitioned to a more favorable Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS).

They argued that the police, as the primary internal security force, should not be the only agency “trapped” in the CPS.

The focal point of the agitation is the Nigeria Police Force Pension Board Bill, which was passed by the National Assembly on December 4, 2025, and transmitted to the President on March 16, 2026. Protesters expressed deep frustration over the delay in the presidential signature, warning that the patience of the police community—both retired and serving—has worn thin. “The President should not take our loyalty for granted,” one protester noted. “If he wants our support in the future, he must protect our lives today.”

The protest, which organisers described as the start of an “indefinite” action, saw retirees chanting solidarity songs and carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Police Pension is Slavery” and “President Tinubu, Save Us from PenCom.” Security forces were deployed to manage the situation, but the retirees remained defiant, vowing to remain in the nation’s capital until the bill becomes law and their welfare is secured.