Tinubu Orders Withdrawal of Police Escorts From VIPs (Again)
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the immediate withdrawal of police officers assigned as escorts and guards to Very Important Persons (VIPs) nationwide. The officers are to return to core policing duties in communities that lack an adequate security presence.
The directive was issued during a high-level security meeting held at the State House in Abuja on Sunday and confirmed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the presidency, VIPs who still require escorts will no longer rely on the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for protection but must officially apply for personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The attendees at Sunday's meeting comprised the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Waidi Shaibu; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; and the Director-General of the DSS, Tosin Adeola Ajayi.
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The President has repeatedly insisted that many underserved and remote areas across the country do not have adequate policing. At the same time, thousands of officers remain attached to politicians, business elites and wealthy individuals.
According to a statement released by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga:
Many parts of Nigeria, especially remote areas, have few policemen at the stations, thus making the task of protecting and defending the people difficult. In view of the current security challenges facing the country, President Tinubu is eager to boost police presence in all communities.
Onanuga also announced the President’s plans to recruit 30,000 additional police officers and upgrade police training facilities through partnerships with state governments.
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A History of Withdrawals
This is not the first time the withdrawal of police escorts from VIPs has been announced, but implementation has always been the problem, not policy.
Below is a timeline of previous withdrawal orders and why they happened:
1. 2003 – Tafa Balogun’s Withdrawal, U‑Turn, and Backlash
In 2003, IGP Mustafa “Tafa” Adebayo Balogun made headlines by ordering the withdrawal of police orderlies from judicial officers and politicians. He argued that too many officers were being diverted to personal protection duties, undermining effective policing.
However, the move was controversial. Judges and political leaders pushed back. The Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory, Justice Lawal Gummi, publicly condemned the directive, saying it endangered court functions.
Within a month, Balogun partially reversed the order: on October 13, 2003, he reinstated the police orderlies to their positions as judges.
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2. 2009 – Onovo’s Short‑Lived Reform
A few years later, in August 2009, IGP Ogbonnaya Onovo announced that all police personnel serving as private orderlies should return to their bases. He explicitly warned that “any policeman or woman who continues in such duty will be dismissed forthwith and delisted.”
But the directive did not last: within a short time, Onovo partially walked back his own order, allowing some high-profile individuals (including wives of governors and other VIPs) to retain orderlies.
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3. 2010 – Ringim’s Threats and Monitoring Unit
When IGP Hafiz Ringim assumed leadership in 2010, he renewed the push for reform. He warned that officers who refused to return from VIP duties “would be arrested, delisted and prosecuted.”
The police spokesman at the time, Emmanuel Ojukwu, said a special monitoring unit would be established to enforce the order. Still, the directive collapsed like a pack of cards soon after.
4. 2012 – Abubakar Cancels All Private Guards
In February 2012, Acting IGP Mohammed Abubakar took a bold step: he cancelled all approved police guards for private individuals and corporate bodies.He framed the move as part of a broader effort to restore “professionalism, integrity and lost glory” to the Nigeria Police Force.
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