President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed that police officers currently assigned as personal security aides to VIPs across the country be withdrawn and reassigned to frontline policing functions. The decision was announced following a security briefing held on Sunday in Abuja with the service chiefs and the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS).
In a statement released by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the government explained that VIPs who require armed protection will now be provided with personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), freeing police officers to address critical security gaps nationwide.
The statement noted that many communities — particularly remote and rural areas — remain understaffed in terms of police presence, making effective law enforcement difficult.
“In view of the prevailing security challenges across the country, President Tinubu is committed to strengthening police deployment in all localities,” the statement read.
Onanuga further confirmed that the President has approved the recruitment of an additional 30,000 police officers. The Federal Government is also collaborating with state governments to enhance the capacity of police training institutions nationwide.
Present at Sunday’s high-level meeting were 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 DSS Director-General, Tosin Adeola Ajayi.
The withdrawal of police security details from VIPs follows long-standing concerns about the overstretching of Nigeria’s police force. Several assessments have revealed that more than 100,000 officers are assigned to politicians, business leaders, and various categories of prominent individuals — a practice that has significantly reduced manpower available for core policing responsibilities.
The administration’s new directive aims to redirect policing resources back to public safety, especially amid rising insecurity in multiple regions.
