President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the withdrawal of police officers attached to Very Important Persons (VIPs) across the country, ordering that they be redeployed to core policing duties.
The directive was issued on Sunday during a high-level security meeting the President held in Abuja with the service chiefs and the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Under the new arrangement, VIPs seeking official protection will now be required to request armed security personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), rather than the police.
The move comes amid concerns over inadequate police presence in many parts of the country, particularly in rural communities where police stations are severely understaffed, making it difficult to protect residents effectively.
To strengthen internal security, President Tinubu has also approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers. The Federal Government is collaborating with state governments to upgrade police training facilities nationwide.
Those in attendance at Sunday’s meeting included 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.
