Retired Nigeria Police Force officers have initiated plans for a nationwide protest scheduled for Monday, July 21, 2025, to demand the removal of the force from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). The action, branded the “Mother of All Peaceful Protests”, is the culmination of years of frustration over persistently low pensions, which many retirees say have plunged them into financial hardship, depression, and even death after decades of service.
Organised by the National Association of Retired Police Officers of Nigeria (NARPON) and state unions such as the Kaduna chapter, the retirees insist their grievances have been largely ignored despite prior peaceful demonstrations at the National Assembly earlier this year. Key spokesmen, including retired AIG Paul Ochonu, emphasised that the disparity in which police officers are under CPS while the military and intelligence agencies operate under a more favourable Defined Benefits Schemehas created inequity and broken public trust.
In response, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has ordered tight security protocols to ensure the protest remains peaceful and dignified, cautioning against attempts to misrepresent retirees’ concerns or politicise the issue. The Police Service Commission criticized the timing of the protest as potentially diversionary, urging retired officers to engage in dialogue instead, while some civil society groups accused the protest organisers of using welfare grievances as cover for political motives.
