Retired Senior Police Officers Disown Group Behind 11-Day Ultimatum To Tinubu Over Pension Exit Bill
By Sunday Etuka
A leading platform of Retired Senior Police Officers, comprising retired Assistant Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners of Police and retired Commissioners of Police, has distanced itself from the group that recently issued an 11-day ultimatum to President Bola Tinubu to sign the Police Exit Bill into law, threatening nationwide protest if he failed to do so.
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by its Chairman, CP John D. Amadi (Rtd), and CP Fatai Owosheni (Rtd) as Co-Chairman, the platform of the retired senoir police officers clarified retired CSP Raphael Irowainu and his group known as the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF), do not represent the generality of retired police officers under the Contributoary Pension Scheme (CPS).
The Platform described PROF as a “splinter group,” noting that Irowainu only retired from the force in March 2025, and had been previously been part of the existing retirees’ structure before breaking away to form a parallel organisation. It warned that his group’s public announcements and threats risked undermining ongoing contructive negotiations with government and relevant stakeholders.
“The Nigeria Police Force is a disciplined institution, and officers, whether serving or retired, are expected to conduct themselves responsibly,” the statement said, adding that sensitive national welfare issues must be pursued through “responsible dialogue, institutional engagement, and lawful negotiation — not through ultimatums, threats, inflammatory rhetoric, or actions capable of overheating the polity.”
The Platform acknowledged welfare challenges faced by retired officers under CPS but said it had been engaged in structural negotiations with the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and other authorities since the Director-General of PenCom initiated talks following President Tinubu’s withholding of assent to the Police Exit Bill, reportedly passed by the National Assembly in December 4, 2025. It said its proposals have been formally submitted and are receiving due considerations.
The group urged the public, the media, government institutions and security agencies to regard any representations by Irowainu’s group as reflecting the collective position of retired officers, and called on all retirees to remain calm, law-abiding and supportive of the ongoing engagements.
