By Peter Omopo
Abuja, July 21, 2025 — Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, on Monday led a protest to the Force Headquarters in Abuja to demand improved welfare and pension reforms for serving and retired police officers.
The demonstration, held in collaboration with the Nigerian Union of Retired Police Officers (NURPO), called for the immediate removal of police personnel from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), which protesters described as exploitative and dehumanising.
Although protesters were barred from entering the Force Headquarters, they were accompanied by police escorts from the National Assembly complex throughout the protest.
Carrying placards with bold messages such as “Decent Salaries Now,” “End Police Slavery,” “Pensions for Police Officers,” and “CPS is a Death Sentence,” the demonstrators voiced their frustration over what they said were years of neglect and hardship under the current pension structure.
Sowore, addressing the crowd, emphasized the need for urgent legislative intervention to secure fair retirement benefits for police personnel who have served the nation.
The retired officers had previously vowed to continue picketing both the Force Headquarters and the National Assembly as part of a broader push for reforms to end what they described as a cycle of poverty and indignity among retired police officers.
The protest is the latest in a series of actions by ex-police personnel and civil rights advocates calling for overhauls in Nigeria’s pension administration, especially for uniformed service members.
