President Bola Tinubu has ordered the withdrawal of police personnel from VIP protection duties as part of efforts to bolster national security and redirect police resources to core law-enforcement functions.
The directive was issued during a high-level security meeting on Friday attended by 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 Department of State Services, Tosin Adeola Ajayi.
The meeting followed a spike in abductions and wider security threats across the country.
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Tinubu instructed that police personnel currently attached to politicians, businessmen and other privileged individuals be reassigned to operational policing roles. VIPs requiring protection, he said, must henceforth obtain well-armed escorts from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
A statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, noted that many communities — especially in remote areas — operate with severely understaffed police stations, undermining the force’s ability to protect citizens.
“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 added that the President has already approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers, while the federal government is working with state governments to upgrade police training facilities nationwide.
The move marks one of the administration’s most significant steps yet to address concerns about inadequate policing and the diversion of officers to non-essential VIP assignments.
