President Bola Tinubu has ordered the withdrawal of police officers attached to Very Important Persons across the country, directing that they be redeployed to core policing duties.
The directive was issued during a security meeting the president held on Sunday in Abuja with service chiefs and the director-general of the Department of State Services.
According to a statement released by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, VIPs requiring protection will now be assigned armed operatives from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps instead of the police.
“Many parts of Nigeria, especially remote areas, have few policemen at the stations, thus making the task of protecting and defending the people difficult.
“In view of the current security challenges facing the country, President Tinubu is desirous of boosting police presence in all communities,” the statement read.
Onanuga also disclosed that the President has approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police personnel and that the Federal Government is working with states to upgrade police training facilities nationwide.
Those in attendance at Sunday’s meeting included the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; and Director-General of the DSS, Tosin Adeola Ajayi.
The withdrawal of police escorts from VIPs comes amid long-standing concerns over the overstretching of Nigeria’s police force.
Several reports have highlighted that more than 100,000 police officers are assigned to politicians, businessmen, and other VIPs.
Meanwhile Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector-general of police (IGP), has once ordered the immediate withdrawal of police mobile force (PMF) personnel from private individuals across the country.
In a statement by Muyiwa Adejobi, the force spokesperson, said Egbetokun issued the directive on Tuesday during a conference with PMF squadron commanders at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
He decried the assignment of PMF operatives to escort and guard duties for VIPs and private individuals, calling it a “distortion that weakens operational effectiveness”.
