Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, on Monday, led a protest to the Force Headquarters in Abuja, demanding urgent reforms in the welfare and pension system 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), describing it as exploitative and dehumanising.
Protesters, initially barred from accessing the Force Headquarters, were later escorted under heavy security to the National Assembly Complex, where they pressed for legislative intervention.
Brandishing placards with bold messages such as “End Police Slavery,” “CPS is a Death Sentence,” “Pensions for Police Officers,” and “Dignity for Those in Uniform,” the aggrieved group accused the government of turning a blind eye to the deteriorating conditions of both active and retired officers.
Sowore, speaking at the protest, decried what he described as decades of systemic neglect, urging the National Assembly to urgently amend laws that have subjected police retirees to poverty, humiliation, and premature death.
The retired officers had previously vowed to picket the National Assembly in what they called a last-resort move to draw attention to their plight and push for legislative action.
“This is not just a protest—it is a cry for justice,” one of the retired officers said. “After years of serving this country, we are treated like liabilities. That must change.”
