Police pensioners block Villa access over contributory pension scheme disagreement
Protesting police pensioners on Monday occupied one of the two major access routes to the Presidential Villa in Abuja, causing significant disruption to vehicular traffic around the seat of power.
- …occupy Asokoro route, divert traffic to Supreme Court axis
Protesting police pensioners on Monday occupied one of the two major access routes to the Presidential Villa in Abuja, causing significant disruption to vehicular traffic around the seat of power.
The retirees, under the aegis of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF), blocked the Asokoro access road leading to the Villa, located in front of the Federal Fire Service, preventing motorists heading to work via that corridor from entering.
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However, the alternative access route from the Federal Secretariat axis, which leads through the Supreme Court, remained open.
The diversion of traffic from the blocked Asokoro route to the unaffected corridor led to heavy congestion, with long queues of vehicles stretching through security checkpoints along the Secretariat access route.
The protest, which marks an escalation of long-standing grievances over pension welfare, prompted immediate reinforcement of security around the Villa, with heavily armed personnel of the Brigade of Guards deployed to maintain order and secure the perimeter.
The aggrieved retirees are demanding their removal from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), which they argue has subjected them to inadequate benefits, irregular payments, and severe hardship in retirement.
Monday’s action is part of a sustained agitation that has lingered for years, with former police personnel repeatedly calling for either an exit from the CPS or the establishment of a separate pension framework tailored to the unique risks of policing.
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At the core of the renewed protest is growing frustration over delays in presidential assent to a bill passed by the National Assembly seeking to exempt police personnel from the CPS.
Leaders of the protest said the prolonged wait has worsened the plight of retirees, many of whom, they noted, are struggling to survive under what they described as “unjust and exploitative” pension conditions.
Chanting solidarity songs and displaying placards, some of the demonstrators warned that the protest could be sustained if their demands are not urgently addressed, insisting that previous engagements with relevant authorities have failed to yield meaningful results.
The development highlights mounting concerns over welfare within Nigeria’s security architecture, raising questions about morale among serving personnel, even as pressure builds on the Federal Government to take decisive action on the contentious pension issue.
The ongoing protest is part of an indefinite campaign by PROF, which began around July 2025 and has seen periodic demonstrations across the Federal Capital Territory, including earlier actions in April 2026 over alleged unpaid pension entitlements despite repeated security interventions.
