Tension as Retired Police Officers, Sowore Lead Protests Over Welfare, Pension Scheme in Abuja

There is growing anxiety in Abuja and across the country as retired police officers and activists, including African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, prepare to stage major protests on Monday over poor welfare conditions in the Nigeria Police Force.

While Sowore and fellow activists are mobilizing for a demonstration in Abuja demanding better welfare for serving officers, members of the Nigerian Union of Retired Police Officers are also set to picket the National Assembly and Force Headquarters. Their main demand is to be removed from the controversial Contributory Pension Scheme, which they describe as discriminatory and exploitative.

Chairman of the union, Mannir M. Lawal, told reporters on Sunday that retired officers from all 36 states had converged on the capital for what he called the “mother of all peaceful protests.”

“Nothing is going to stop this protest,” Lawal said. “We just concluded a meeting with the FCT Commissioner of Police. We are demanding to be taken out of the Contributory Pension Scheme and for all our contributions to be refunded immediately.”

Lawal, however, distanced the union’s protest from that of Sowore, clarifying that the retired officers’ demonstration was independently organized. “We only saw Sowore’s protest call on social media. We were not informed or connected to it beforehand,” he stated.

In response to the planned demonstrations, the Nigeria Police Force expressed concern that some individuals were politicizing the genuine grievances of retired officers for personal or political gain.

Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement on Sunday, accused unnamed actors—apparently referring to Sowore—of using the issue to “twist facts, inflame public sentiment, and sow distrust.”

“Their intent is not reform, but disruption,” the statement read. “Weaponizing a sensitive welfare issue like this only undermines efforts to improve the conditions of both serving and retired police personnel.”

The protests are expected to draw significant attention amid rising public frustration over economic hardship and unresolved pension issues in Nigeria.