Senior Police Officers Resolve Nigerian Police Must Quit Contributory Pension Scheme, Seek National Assembly Backing

Senior officers of the Nigeria Police Force have resolved that the Force should withdraw from the current Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), describing it as unsuitable for the welfare of police personnel.

According to an internal wireless message issued by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Border Patrol Force on August 6, 2025, the resolution was reached during a high-level meeting at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, which was attended by officers from the rank of Commissioner of Police (CP) and above.

The officers extensively discussed the pension issue and unanimously agreed that the police should quit the CPS “as it is presently constituted.”

Instead, they resolved that efforts should now be directed towards the National Assembly to provide the necessary legal backing for the decision.

In the meantime, officers and men of the Force were urged to remain patient and assured that steps were being taken to secure the best possible welfare package for them.

The message, which was circulated to zonal and state commanders as well as border units nationwide, stressed that the directive should be treated as “very important.”

Background

Previously, SaharaReporters reported that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Pensions Limited had appealed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to intervene in ensuring that all police officers transfer their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) to the company before August 31, 2025.

In a letter dated July 2, 2025, and signed by its Managing Director/CEO, Kolade Morakinyo, the firm urged the police leadership to issue a directive compelling officers who had yet to move their RSAs to NPF Pensions Limited to do so within the set deadline.

Morakinyo explained that the request was in line with a common understanding reached among the National Pension Commission (PenCom), the Police Management, and NPF Pensions Limited that members of the Force deserve an enhanced pension scheme.

He noted that consultants engaged by the company were already working on modalities for the enhancement.

According to him, consolidating all police officers’ RSAs under NPF Pensions Limited is necessary to build a uniform database that would enable the proper computation of percentage enhancements based on officers’ ranks and steps.

“There is therefore the compelling need to consolidate all Police personnel RSAS in NPF Pensions Limited so as to have a full and uniform database with which to work out the percentage enhancements according to their ranks and steps,” the letter read in part.

It is expected that the IGP’s intervention will help secure compliance across the Force.

In July, SaharaReporters reported that the Force had ordered all serving police officers across the country to transfer their RSAs to NPF Pensions Limited on or before August 31, 2025, following a directive from the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun.

The directive followed a formal request from Morakinyo, who appealed to the police hierarchy for intervention to facilitate a full consolidation of police pension accounts under the fund manager.

Responding to the request, the Principal Staff Officer to the IGP, DCP Lateef Adio Ahmed, issued a circular dated July 7, 2025, on behalf of the Inspector-General.

The document was addressed to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Finance and Administration and instructed that all police personnel yet to transfer their RSAs must comply immediately.

To implement the directive, the Department of Finance and Administration at the Force Headquarters issued a follow-up circular dated July 10, 2025.

Signed by AIG Godwin I. Eze on behalf of the Deputy Inspector-General, the circular was sent to all Deputy and Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, as well as police colleges, training schools, commandants, and commissioners of police in all 36 states and the FCT.

The NPF Pensions Limited was established specifically to manage the pensions of Nigeria Police personnel under the Contributory Pension Scheme, which is regulated by the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

July 21 #PoliceProtest Against Poor Pension

On July 21, 2025, a wave of frustration and long-suppressed anger swept through the streets of Abuja, Calabar, Taraba, and other Nigerian cities.

Retired police officers took to the streets to demand dignity in retirement.

At the heart of this movement stood Omoyele Sowore, a human rights activist and convener of the Revolution Now Movement, who marched with the retirees, amplifying their voices.

The protests were peaceful but emotionally charged, driven by years of unpaid pensions, inadequate monthly stipends, and a pension scheme many called “exploitative”.

The core of their grievance lay in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), which they claimed had failed them.

Retirees recounted harrowing tales: some received as little as ₦2–₦3 million after 35 years of service, while others were left with monthly stipends of just ₦30,000 to ₦45,000—barely enough to survive, let alone thrive.

The protesters demanded a complete exit from the CPS, calling for a return to the traditional pension structure that guaranteed full gratuity.

Their placards bore messages like “Scrap police contributory pension scheme” and “We need our full gratuity”. They accused pension fund administrators and police leadership of mismanagement and manipulation, alleging that deductions were often unremitted and records falsified.