Some retirees of the Nigeria Police Force under the aegis of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF) have staged a protest at the Presidential Villa in Abuja to demand that President Bola Tinubu sign the Police Exit Bill passed by the National Assembly in December 2025.

The bill seeks to withdraw the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme.

The protesters, under the scorching sun, walked from the Three Arms Zone in Abuja through the street in front of the Police Headquarters.

They carried placards with various inscriptions, in addition to the Nigerian flag and the flag of the Nigeria Police Force.

Led by its National Coordinator, CSP Raphael Irowainu, the protesters described the retention of the NPF in the Contributory Pension Scheme as fraudulent and illegal.

They also said the CPS is inhumane and obnoxious.

According to them, the protest seeks to prevail on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to give assent to the Police Exit Bill passed by the National Assembly on 4th December 2025 and transmitted to the President on 16th March 2026.

They said that when signed into law, the Act will totally exempt the police from what they called a “slavery and untimely death-inducing pension scheme.”

The protesters, accompanied by some of their spouses and children, also blocked Gate 8 leading into the Presidential Villa, causing obstruction to vehicular movement.

Efforts by Villa security personnel to dissuade them from the protest proved abortive as they insisted on seeing the President.

They laid their mats in front of the gate, singing songs of solidarity, while some of them lay on the floor.

As of the time of filing this report, no one from the Villa had addressed the protesters.

Speaking to reporters, CSP Irowainu said that their main purpose is to prevail on President Tinubu to sign the bill exiting the Nigeria Police Force from the CPS, which he said has been passed and transmitted to him by the National Assembly.

He lamented that while other security agencies in the country such as the Army, Navy, Air Force, SSS and others have all been exited from the scheme, the police remain trapped in it.

“Our major aim here is to prevail on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sign our bill—the bill exiting the police from the Contributory Pension Scheme—passed by the National Assembly on 4th December 2025 and transmitted to him on 16th March, 2026, into law, nothing more than that.

“The soldiers have been exited, the SSS has been exited, the Air Force has been exited, the Navy has been exited, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has been exited. The police, who are the father of them all, are trapped in this obnoxious Contributory Pension Scheme,” CSP Irowainu said.

It is not the first time retired officers are staging a protest over the CPS. In July last year, they demonstrated at the National Assembly to demand their removal from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

The demonstrators, mostly elderly, stood in the rain holding placards and chanting antigovernmental songs.

Some of the retired police officers also besieged the Force Headquarters in Abuja to protest against the CPS.

Addressing the protesters at the time, the then Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, said the welfare of retired police officers was being addressed, but that the exit of the Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme was not something that could be implemented immediately.

He, however, advised the leaders of the protest to refrain from spreading misinformation, stressing that the Force could not abandon its own.

Global technology company Meta Platforms, Inc. has filed an appeal against the judgment of the Lagos State High Court delivered in favour of human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, setting the stage for a potentially precedent-setting legal battle over digital rights, platform liability, and the scope of fundamental rights enforcement in Nigeria.

The appeal, dated April 10, 2026, arises from Suit No. LD/18843MFHR/2025: Falana v. Meta Platforms, Inc., in which Justice O. A. Oresanya ruled in favour of Falana and awarded damages of $25,000 over a video publication alleged to have violated his rights.

Meta’s Notice of Appeal, filed by its legal team led by Mofesomo Tayo-Oyetibo, SAN, sets out eight grounds challenging both the procedural and substantive bases of the High Court’s decision.

At the heart of the appeal is a jurisdictional challenge.

Meta contends that the trial court erred in entertaining the suit as a fundamental rights enforcement action. According to the company, the claims are essentially rooted in alleged false publication and reputational harm—issues that properly fall within the realm of defamation law rather than constitutional rights enforcement.

By allowing the matter to proceed under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, Meta argues that the court assumed jurisdiction it did not possess.

The company further disputes the trial court’s finding of liability based on the doctrine of undisclosed principal.

It argues that there was no evidence establishing any principal-agent relationship between Meta and the publisher of the video in question, identified as “AfriCare Health Centre.” Meta maintains that the content was created and posted by an independent third party and that, as an intermediary platform, it neither originated nor exercised editorial control over the material.

In addition, the appeal challenges the court’s conclusion that Meta breached Section 24(1)(a) and (e) of the Nigeria Data Protection Act.

The company insists it was wrongly classified as a data controller, arguing that there is no evidence that it determined either the purpose or the means of processing the personal data involved in the disputed publication.

Meta also faults the award of $25,000 in damages to Falana, describing it as unwarranted in the circumstances of the case. It urges the appellate court to set aside both the award and the entire judgment.

Raising concerns about procedural fairness, Meta alleges that it was denied a fair hearing during the proceedings.

It claims that the trial court raised and determined issues suo motu without inviting submissions from the parties and failed to address key arguments presented in its defence.

The Federal Government on Tuesday commenced the mass trial of 227 terrorism suspects before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

The trials of the suspects—who, according to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, number about 500—are being handled by ten judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The trial of terrorism suspects, which usually takes place in Kainji, Niger State, was moved to Abuja as the court is currently on Easter vacation, which began on Tuesday, April 7, and will end on April 13, 2026. Regular court sittings will resume on Tuesday, April 14, across all divisions of the Federal High Court.

While the AGF, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, and Becky Jibo, Chief State Counsel, appeared for the prosecution, the Director-General of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria represented some of the suspects.

The first suspect, Hamat Modu, aged 20, who pleaded guilty to a four-count charge bordering on rendering assistance to members of Boko Haram—a proscribed group in the country—was convicted and sentenced by Justice Binta Nyako to ten years’ imprisonment on each count.

In another case, Isah Ali, also a food supplier in Borno State, who pleaded guilty to the charges preferred against him, was handed a ten-year jail term by Justice Nyako. The judge ruled that his sentence would take effect from three years ago when he was arrested and detained.

Justice Nyako also ordered that the convicts be held in any detention facility designated by the Ministry of Interior and undergo rehabilitation and deradicalisation at the end of their jail terms.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, Justice Nyako also sentenced a father of six, Hamza Yahuza, to seven years’ imprisonment for selling Indian hemp and cigarettes to Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State.

Yahuza, one of over 500 persons brought before various Federal High Court divisions in Abuja for trial by the AGF for aiding and abetting terrorism against the Federal Republic of Nigeria, admitted in open court to committing the offence in 2023 and pleaded for leniency, which the judge declined.

The judge also rejected his claim that poverty pushed him into supplying drugs, Indian hemp, and cigarettes to Boko Haram members.

The convict further admitted supplying various drugs to terrorists in parts of Monguno Local Government Area of Borno State. In her judgment, Justice Nyako sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment, to run from March 6, 2023, when he was apprehended and detained.

Following the guilty pleas of the defendants, prosecution counsel urged the court to convict them as charged after tendering their extra-judicial statements and investigation reports, which were admitted as exhibits.

Also convicted on Tuesday was a father of three, Shehu Bukar, who was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for selling goats to Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State.

Bukar, who was arraigned on a five-count charge, admitted in open court and in his extra-judicial statement that he committed the offence. Following his denial of four other charges, the Federal Government withdrew those counts, leaving him to be convicted on one.

Justice Nyako, after reviewing the confessional statement, admission of guilt, and investigation report, convicted and sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment.

The judge refused his plea for leniency, noting that terrorism has become a serious concern across the country.

According to the court, rendering support to terrorists is a grave offence that must not be condoned.

Another 20 suspected terrorists are also facing trial before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Other trial judges, apart from Justices Nyako and Nwite, include Justices Musa Liman and Akpan Ekerete, among others.

Some of the suspects listed in Justice Nyako’s cause list include Hamat Modu, Isah Ali, Awal Bello, Shehu Bukar, Alhaji Kulle, Mohammed Abacha Hassan, Aminami Mallum, Tasiu Yakubu, and Abdullahi Ali, among others.

The trial attracted heavily armed security personnel, with all roads leading to the Federal High Court in Abuja cordoned off.

Speaking with journalists after the proceedings, the AGF said a total of 227 suspects appeared before ten judges, despite the ongoing Easter vacation.

He commended the judges for their patriotism and commitment to national service, stating: “They have prioritised the trial of terrorism suspects to underscore the importance attached to these proceedings.

“This is Phase 9. For this phase, we have 500 suspects in total, and the exercise will last until Friday or Saturday. It is our hope that we will make significant progress.”

Explaining why the trials were moved from Kainji to Abuja, Fagbemi said that whether in Kainji or Maiduguri, the judges handling terrorism cases are from the Federal High Court.

“For logistical reasons, it is not convenient to go to Kainji. Although the same judges would have been ferried there, it is more convenient to sit in Abuja. We have more courtrooms here, and the law permits us to sit here,” he said.

In his remarks, the Director-General of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Aliyu Abubakar, who also served as defence counsel, explained that some charges involved suspects paying “Zakat” to the proscribed Boko Haram group.

“When you pay money or give farm produce to Boko Haram by way of appeasing them, it is considered terrorism financing,” he said.

He noted that two suspects were convicted for giving farm produce as Zakat to the group and added that the trial was somewhat easier because many suspects admitted to the charges.

“This has been our experience over the years, and today’s trial is not different. A majority of them admit to committing the offences. Many have been convicted for associating with Boko Haram.

“Some are not active participants in Boko Haram or ISWAP activities. However, under the law, association is treated as seriously as committing the offence itself.

“Some have been convicted for association, while one or two persons have been discharged and acquitted. For someone who has spent four or five years in military custody to be discharged and acquitted shows a level of transparency in the process.

“This exercise will continue until Friday or thereabout,” he added.