President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the immediate withdrawal of police officers assigned to provide security for Very Important Persons (VIPs), directing that they be redeployed to core policing duties across the country.
The directive was announced on Sunday by Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, following a high-level security meeting in Abuja attended by service chiefs from the police, army, air force and the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Under the new arrangement, VIPs seeking armed protection will now be required to request such services from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), rather than the Nigeria Police Force.
The decision comes amid concerns that many remote communities remain severely under-policed, limiting the government’s ability to protect citizens in areas plagued by banditry, kidnapping and violent attacks.
To strengthen national security, Onanuga said President Tinubu has approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police personnel and is working with state governments to upgrade police training facilities nationwide.
He added that the President has directed that police presence be expanded in all communities as part of broader efforts to tackle insecurity.