The lawmaker representing Borno South Senatorial District, Senator Ali Ndume, has said that the presidential directive on withdrawing police officers from VIP duties should also apply to the National Assembly.
Ndume argued that the number of police personnel assigned to the National Assembly was excessive. He also alleged that some lawmakers had police officers attached to their wives and children, describing the situation as inappropriate. According to him, there would be no need for such security attachments in Abuja if the Federal Capital Territory were truly secure.
He said, “I thought today I would not see so many police officers in the National Assembly, but the place is still crowded with them. So I don’t know what the IGP is talking about.
“You can’t imagine what is happening. Some of our colleagues, some ministers, have police officers attached to their wives. What is the reason for that? They even have police attached to their children.”
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, he continued, “I saw the son of one politically exposed person, and he is already moving with a convoy. It’s not an abuse; it’s an insult. I visited one of my colleagues after dinner and saw more than ten police officers there. He is even my junior in the National Assembly.
“Some of them move with so many security personnel that when you see them coming, you would think it’s the President or Vice President.”
Ndume also stated that if Abuja were properly secured, even President Bola Tinubu could move without a large convoy.
“You can see the size of the President’s convoy; it is too much. If Abuja were secure, the President could even drive himself. But instead of securing the city, we secure individuals, leaving ordinary citizens vulnerable. If Abuja were secure, people could drive at night freely. This is what happens in many other countries.”
When reminded that his suggestion would mean withdrawing the police attached to him, he said, “I don’t have a police officer; I only have an orderly. At one point, some senior security officials thought I was at risk and assigned three policemen to me, but that was too many. I refused.
“I insisted that if I must have any attachment, it should only be an orderly. And that is because I am an accused person, so I need a plain-clothed officer who can testify about my movements and interactions. Not for protection.”
He added that although President Tinubu had taken commendable steps to address insecurity, more still needed to be done.
Ndume faulted Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s claim that Nigeria has an effective satellite monitoring system. He noted that the rise in abductions showed gaps in the country’s surveillance capacity and urged the government to invest in more satellites.
“The US has more than 8,500 satellites. We have only four. If we really had the capability the Senate President mentioned, why couldn’t we locate the abducted girls?
“Even as I speak, 13 teenage girls were abducted by ISWAP in my constituency since Friday or Saturday. Up till now, there is no news. Only one married woman among them escaped. We have been shouting, but we still have no information.”
He also expressed concern about General Uba, who has been missing. “Nobody can say whether he is dead or alive. I heard the President suggest in his speech that he is dead, but if he is dead, where is the body?”
In response to mounting security challenges, President Tinubu had ordered the withdrawal of police personnel attached to VIPs. While declaring a security emergency on Wednesday, he said the withdrawn officers would undergo crash training and then be deployed to areas facing serious security threats.
Following the directive, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, announced that 11,566 police personnel had been recalled and redeployed to underserved communities.
He said the move was a patriotic and strategic measure to strengthen manpower for critical frontline policing duties.
