ABUJA: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reaffirmed his directive ordering the withdrawal of police officers attached to Very Important Persons (VIPs), insisting that the redeployment of personnel to insecurity-prone areas must be fully implemented.
Speaking during Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, the President directed the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to work with the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to immediately replace withdrawn police orderlies with trained civil defence personnel.
I honestly believe in what I said, and I call on the IG… If you have any problem of security because of the nature of your assignment, please contact the IGP and get my clearance, Tinubu said.
The President emphasized that no part of Nigeria would be left vulnerable to kidnapping, terrorism, or banditry due to poor resource allocation. [The withdrawal order] should be affected.
We need all the forces we can utilize. Some of our people are exposed, and we must make exceptional provisions for them. Civil defense personnel are equally armed,” he added.
Tinubu also directed the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Department of State Services (DSS) to form a committee to review the country’s security deployment structure.
The renewed directive follows Tinubu’s November 24 instruction during a security meeting with service chiefs and heads of intelligence agencies mandating the withdrawal of police escorts from VIPs.
A statement released by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had announced that police officers assigned to politicians, celebrities, business elites and other influential individuals would be recalled and redeployed for core policing duties.
Three days after the announcement, the IGP confirmed that 11,566 personnel had been withdrawn and that redeployment to underserved communities had begun.
The policy has sparked widespread debate across the country, with many Nigerians applauding the directive while others questioned its execution.
Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South), speaking on Television, argued that the directive appeared selective and should extend to the National Assembly.
I thought today I would not see so many police in the National Assembly… Some ministers have police officers attached to their wives and children. What is their business with that? he asked.
Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka also expressed shock over the heavy security entourage accompanying Seyi Tinubu, describing it as excessive.
There was nearly a whole battalion occupying the grounds of a hotel in Ikoyi… at least 15 heavily armed officers, he said at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism Awards on Tuesday.
A retired AIG, Abutu Yaro, urged the government to implement the policy cautiously to avoid unintended consequences.
Similarly, former DSS Director, Mike Ejiofor, warned that the NSCDC lacked the manpower and specialised training for VIP protection.
“The NSCDC does not have the capacity… Their statutory function is to secure critical infrastructure. They will need fresh training for VIP duties,” he cautioned.
The Senate on Wednesday mandated its Committee on Police Affairs to probe alleged uneven enforcement of the presidential directive.
This followed a point of order raised by Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central), who lamented that his only police orderly had been withdrawn while ministers, influential businessmen, political families and even entertainers still enjoyed full police protection.
“It should be done across the board… A senator cannot have even one orderly while singers and children of political office holders retain full security. This is unheard of in any democracy,” Ningi stated.
The investigation aims to determine whether the policy is being applied fairly as part of Tinubu’s broader security reforms intended to boost police efficiency and improve public safety.
