A leaked internal police wireless message has revealed that the Nigeria Police Force has ordered an immediate reinforcement of security around the Presidential Villa, directing officers to prevent protesting retired police personnel from approaching or gaining access to the main gate of Aso Rock as agitation over poor pensions intensifies.
The classified directive, dated July 9, 2026, was issued amid growing nationwide frustration among retired officers demanding an end to what they describe as years of neglect, poverty and injustice under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
The wireless message, marked “Immediate,” was transmitted by the Commander of the 24 Police Mobile Force (PMF) Prescort to the Officer Commanding Provost, all Unit Commanders and other senior security officers attached to the Presidential Villa. Copies were also sent to the Chief Police Security Officer to the Commander-in-Chief, the State House and Squadron Police Officers.
According to the directive, security agencies were ordered to ensure adequate deployment of personnel around the Presidential Villa with immediate effect, following intelligence that retired police officers planned to continue their protest over unresolved pension and welfare issues.
The message expressly instructed officers that under no circumstances should the protesting retirees be allowed to move close to or gain access to the main entrance of the Presidential Villa.
While emphasising the need for professionalism, the directive instructed officers to maintain a firm security presence, enforce strict access control and prevent any breach of security while exercising maximum restraint in dealing with the demonstrators.
The order has heightened public attention on the Federal Government’s handling of the lingering pension crisis affecting thousands of retired police officers, many of whom say they have been abandoned after dedicating decades of their lives to national service.
For years, retired police personnel have condemned the Contributory Pension Scheme as “inhumane,” “fraudulent” and “modern-day slavery,” insisting that it has condemned many of their colleagues to hunger, ill health and extreme financial hardship.
The retirees are demanding that President Bola Tinubu sign the Nigeria Police Force Pension Board Bill into law. The proposed legislation seeks to remove police personnel from the Contributory Pension Scheme and establish a dedicated pension board tailored to the peculiar nature of policing.
The latest protest follows earlier demonstrations in April, when hundreds of retired officers marched to the Presidential Villa and blocked its entrance, demanding presidential assent to the bill. They later suspended the protest after appeals by the Inspector-General of Police, who reportedly sought time to engage the Federal Government on their grievances.
Despite those assurances, the retirees say little has changed. Many claim they received retirement benefits ranging between ₦3 million and ₦4 million after more than three decades of service, while others receive monthly pensions of just ₦30,000 to ₦50,000, sums they argue are grossly inadequate amid Nigeria’s soaring cost of living.
Some retirees disclosed that after serving for as long as 35 years, they were paid as little as ₦1.6 million as their total retirement benefit.
“We have been turned into beggars after 35 years of service,” one retired officer lamented during an earlier protest at the National Assembly, reflecting the growing frustration within the ranks of former police personnel.
National Coordinator of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF), retired Chief Superintendent of Police Raphael Irowainu, said many former officers are battling severe injuries, disabilities and psychological trauma but remain unable to access proper healthcare because their retirement savings remain tied to the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
As pressure mounts on the Federal Government to address the retirees’ demands, the leaked security directive underscores official concerns over the planned protest and signals the determination of security authorities to prevent demonstrators from reaching the nation’s seat of power.