Retired police officers under the Police Retiree Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF) have vowed to sustain their nationwide peaceful protests until President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assents to a bill passed by the National Assembly to address their pension concerns, accusing Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tunji Disu, the police management, and some senior officials in the Presidency of allegedly frustrating their demands.
The retirees specifically accused the IGP, the police management team, the Police Special Company, Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator George Akume of allegedly working against efforts to secure presidential assent to the legislation.
The National Coordinator of PROF, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Raphael Irowainu (Rtd.), disclosed this in a message to fellow retired officers on Sunday, announcing that the nationwide demonstration would continue on Monday as the group intensified its campaign for improved pension arrangements.
Irowainu urged retired police officers across the country to mobilise in large numbers, insisting that their demand remained unchanged despite what he described as attempts to introduce an alternative arrangement to the bill already passed by the National Assembly.
“Good afternoon, fellow senior citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I remain your humble servant, CSP Raphael I. Irowainu, the National Coordinator, Police Retiree Officers Forum of Nigeria. Our national peaceful protest will continue tomorrow,” he said.
According to him, the retirees would assemble at their national secretariat at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where they would receive a briefing before collectively deciding on their next destination for the protest.
“By the grace of God, we shall assemble at our National Secretariat, located at Federal Secretariat, FCT Abuja, where the retirees will be briefed before we proceed to our destination for tomorrow, which will be decided by the entire police retirees,” he stated.
He called on retired officers nationwide to participate in the demonstration, stressing that sustained mobilisation was necessary to draw the attention of the President and other relevant authorities to their grievances.
“I want to seize this opportunity to call on all the retirees to please come out en masse once again, to register our displeasure, to call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to prevail on him to give assent to our bill,” Irowainu said.
Tracing the origins of the agitation, the PROF coordinator explained that the protest began on September 29, 2025, with the primary objective of compelling the National Assembly to pass legislation addressing the pension concerns of retired police personnel.
He said the National Assembly subsequently passed the bill on December 4, 2025, adding that the legislation contained provisions intended to establish arrangements for the payment of pensions to retired police officers.
“When we started this protest on 29th of September 2025, our major demand was for the Senate or the National Assembly to pass our bill, which they have graciously done on 4th of December 2025,” he said.
Irowainu maintained that the retirees were not demanding a general pension reform but were seeking the implementation of the specific provisions contained in the bill passed by the legislature.
He argued that the proposed legislation already addressed their concerns and should therefore receive presidential assent rather than be displaced by alternative proposals being promoted by some officials.
“And this bill has spelt out all the modalities that will take care of police retirees as far as pension arrangements are concerned. We never debated, we never agitated, we never solicited for any kind of reform,” he said.
The coordinator further argued that the bill passed by the National Assembly should take precedence over alternative pension reforms he attributed to the Director-General of PACOM and the police management team.
According to him, the proposed alternatives would keep retired police officers within what he described as an exploitative contributory pension scheme, which the retirees believe does not adequately protect their welfare after years of service.
“The law passed by the National Assembly is superior to any reform being canvassed by DG PACOM, by the police management teams and their collaborators, in order to ensure that we are kept in the exploitative and slavery-contributive pension scheme,” Irowainu said.
He insisted that the retirees would not abandon their demand for presidential assent in favour of what he described as an alternative arrangement that had not formed part of their original agitation.
The PROF coordinator also addressed the emergence of another association of retired senior police officers, disputing suggestions that the alternative platform represented the entirety of retired police personnel involved in the pension campaign.
He named Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni and Commissioner of Police Amadi John among those he claimed were not involved when the agitation began in September 2025, alleging that their participation came after the formation of the Retired CP Forum in June 2026.
Irowainu stressed that PROF comprised retired police officers across different ranks and was not an association exclusively for senior officers.
“And as I’m talking to you, I want the whole nation to know that in PROF, we have CPs, we have DCPs, we have ACPs in our midst. It’s a forum that comprises the entire police categories in the Police Retiree Officers Forum,” he said.
He clarified that his organisation did not oppose the constitutional right of other retired officers to form associations or pursue their interests, but warned against any attempt by another group to impose its position or leadership on PROF.
“We are not against anybody. We are not against anybody in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Everybody has freedom of association,” he stated.
“But you cannot impose, you cannot use your association to impose yourself on us. It will never be accepted,” he added.
Irowainu said PROF had communicated its position to the Inspector-General of Police during a meeting on August 6, maintaining that he remained the authorised spokesperson of the forum in his capacity as national coordinator.
He said other associations of retired police officers were free to appoint their own leaders and representatives but should not claim to speak on behalf of PROF.
The coordinator also firmly rejected what he described as “Option B”, an alternative arrangement he alleged was being promoted to undermine the bill passed by the National Assembly and prevent it from receiving presidential assent.
According to him, the retirees would not accept the proposed alternative because their demand was for the implementation of the legislation already passed by the lawmakers.
“We are saying it once again, we are not waiting for Option B, that is, in the first place, not in existence,” he said.
“Option B was conscripted, was planned to truncate the passage, to truncate the assent to the police bill as it is currently before the President,” he added.
The PROF coordinator accused the IGP, the police management team, the Police Special Company, and individuals within the Presidency of allegedly working against the interests of retired police officers.
He specifically named Gbajabiamila and Akume, alleging that their actions were among the factors frustrating the retirees’ efforts to secure presidential assent to the bill.
“These are the people working against our being,” Irowainu said.
The allegations against the named officials were made by the PROF coordinator, and no response from the individuals or institutions accused was contained in his statement.
Irowainu further argued that the dispute went beyond the welfare of retired police personnel, warning that the treatment of former officers could have implications for national security.
He maintained that officers who had devoted their productive years to protecting lives and property should not be left to struggle with inadequate retirement arrangements after leaving the service.
“And we are saying it, that what they are doing is not working against us, they are working against the interests of the entire country. Because their action is tantamount to undermining the national security,” he said.
He urged retired police officers in states where demonstrations had yet to take place to organise peaceful protests at their respective state governors’ offices, saying the nationwide mobilisation would increase pressure on relevant authorities to address their concerns.
The coordinator called on retirees across the federation to join the campaign, insisting that the demonstrations would continue until President Tinubu assented to the bill.
“So we are saying it again, we are using this opportunity to call all the retirees, wherever they are, tomorrow they should come out and march. We shall continue this national peaceful protest until our demands are met,” he said.
“We want to call on all the states throughout the Federation who have not carried out the peaceful protest to the Governor’s office in their respective states to follow suit and do the same,” he added.
Irowainu said many retired police officers had served the country for as long as 35 years, often under difficult and dangerous conditions, while some lost their lives in the course of their duties.
He argued that the sacrifices made by police personnel during their active service entitled them to dignity, comfort and adequate welfare in retirement, warning that their demands would not be abandoned.
“So that they will hear our voice and they will know that police have served this nation for 35 years, used their youthful period to serve this nation. Many of them are killed in the course of this duty,” he said.
“We deserve honour, comfort, dignity in retirement. And this will never be compromised,” he added.
The retired officers vowed to sustain their peaceful demonstrations nationwide until their demands were met, insisting that President Tinubu’s assent to the bill remained their central objective and that they would not be diverted by alternative pension proposals.