Anxiety is spreading among Nigeria’s high-profile individuals following President Bola Tinubu’s directive for the withdrawal of police escorts assigned to VIPs nationwide.
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga announced on Sunday that officers currently attached to VIPs would be redeployed to core policing duties. He added that individuals still requiring close protection would now have to request armed security personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Sources within the police say that since the announcement, VIPs have been flooding the Force Headquarters with calls seeking clarification amid rising concerns over insecurity across the country.
One senior police source said many VIPs doubted the capacity of NSCDC officers to provide the level of protection they are accustomed to. According to the source, one worried VIP compared the move to “replacing battle-ready mobile police officers with boy scouts.”
Another VIP told Vanguard that while VIP escort duties have become entrenched in Nigeria’s security system, the practice raises serious questions about the strain it places on the police force and its ability to serve the wider public.
He argued that high-profile citizens often justify these escorts by citing threats to their safety, but the system ultimately diverts security resources away from ordinary Nigerians already grappling with widespread insecurity.
A serving police officer, speaking anonymously, echoed these concerns. He questioned whether assigning officers to VIPs undermines the police’s capacity to respond to violent crimes, kidnappings, and other threats in communities.
“In many locations, patrol teams are understaffed, and responses to distress calls are delayed because so many officers are tied up on VIP duties,” he said.
A police source at Force Headquarters added that entire units are sometimes deployed to escort a single governor or wealthy businessman. “This creates serious logistical challenges and weakens overall policing,” he explained.
Human rights activist Tony Udemmadu warned that the VIP escort system erodes public trust, reinforcing perceptions that the police serve the elite while ordinary citizens are left vulnerable.
When Vanguard contacted Force PRO Benjamin Hundeyin about the modalities of the withdrawal and when it would begin, he promised to respond but had yet to do so as of press time.
ADC Dismisses Escort Withdrawal as Political Drama
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Tinubu’s directive, calling it political theatre that does nothing to curb the country’s deepening insecurity.
In a statement issued by its spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the administration was more focused on optics than addressing the realities of terrorism, banditry, and mass abductions.
The party noted that similar directives had been issued several times—including twice in 2025—without any meaningful implementation.
The ADC argued that even if the order were enforced, it would not solve the underlying problem: that the police, as currently trained and equipped, are not prepared to confront Nigeria’s increasingly sophisticated security threats.
The party also dismissed the government’s claim that withdrawing escorts would deploy 100,000 officers to frontline duties, saying the issue was not manpower but capability.
“With insurgents adapting faster than the military, how can poorly equipped and undertrained policemen handle counter-insurgency?” Abdullahi asked.
