By Bello Shehu Tamaje
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Nigeria Police Force to immediately withdraw personnel assigned as security escorts to Very Important Persons (VIPs) across the country, in a major shake-up aimed at strengthening community policing and restoring manpower to underserved areas.
The directive, issued during a high-level security meeting in Abuja on Sunday, follows concerns over the dwindling number of operational police officers available to protect citizens, especially in remote and high-risk communities.
Under the new policy, VIPs who require official security protection will no longer rely on police escorts. Instead, they will be required to request armed operatives from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), according to details from the meeting.
Presidency sources say the President is determined to address long-standing gaps in police response and visibility, as thousands of officers remain attached to individuals rather than performing core policing duties. Many rural settlements currently have only a handful of police personnel some with fewer than five officers, leaving residents vulnerable to banditry, kidnapping, and communal attacks.
President Tinubu has also approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers as part of a broader plan to revitalise the force. The federal government is working with state governments to upgrade training facilities and improve the operational readiness of security agencies nationwide.
Sunday’s meeting was attended by top security chiefs, including 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 the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Adeola Ajayi.
The withdrawal of police escorts, one of the most significant reforms in recent years is expected to take immediate effect, though implementation modalities are still being worked out.
