More than 30,000 retired police officers across Nigeria have renewed their appeal to President Bola Tinubu to assent to the Police Exit Bill, warning that failure to sign the legislation before June 22, 2026 would trigger a fresh round of nationwide protests.

The appeal was made in Akure, Ondo State, during a press conference addressed by the National Coordinator of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria, CSP Raphael Irowainu (Rtd), who described the bill as a strategic national security intervention rather than a mere welfare package. Irowainu said the legislation, which seeks to exempt the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme, was passed by the National Assembly in December 2025 and transmitted to the President in March 2026 for assent, but has yet to receive presidential approval.

The forum expressed confidence that Tinubu would ultimately sign the bill, noting that similar security agencies, including the military and the Department of State Services, already operate outside the contributory pension framework. The retirees argued that the same equity should apply to the police, with protesters at earlier demonstrations carrying placards reading “End CPS” and “If military, DSS were removed from PENCOM, why not police?”

The agitation is not new. In April, hundreds of retired officers and their family members had marched to the Presidential Villa in Abuja, blocking a gate at Aso Rock while demanding immediate presidential assent. Led by Irowainu, the protesters described the Contributory Pension Scheme as fraudulent, illegal, inhumane, and obnoxious, insisting that the police be removed from the scheme and returned to a defined benefits structure. Some retirees lamented earning as little as ₦18,000 to ₦33,000 monthly under the current arrangement amounts they said were wholly inadequate for survival in the present economy.

In a letter dated May 18, 2026, and titled “A Passionate Appeal For Assent To The Police Pension Exit Bill,” the forum petitioned the President directly, lamenting that the continued delay had left many retired officers living in pain, uncertainty, abject poverty, and total neglect. The Nigerian Union of Retired Police Officers also backed the call, with its Kaduna State chapter convening an emergency meeting to raise additional concerns about selective pension payments, rank-based disparities, and a lack of transparency in how entitlements were being disbursed.

Irowainu maintained that the forum’s position remained firm and non-negotiable. “This struggle is not about privilege but about justice, equity, fair play and human dignity,” he said, adding that the retirees viewed their exit from the contributory scheme as a long-term investment that would improve professionalism, reduce corruption, and enhance public safety across the country.