President Bola Tinubu addressing security chiefs in Abuja during a meeting on police redeployment and community safety.
President Bola Tinubu has directed the withdrawal of approximately 100,000 police officers assigned to Very Important Persons (VIPs) and politically exposed individuals, redeploying them to core policing duties and counter-insurgency operations across Nigeria.
The directive, issued during a high-level security meeting in Abuja on Sunday, was attended by Service Chiefs, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Adeola Ajayi.
In a statement, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the withdrawal of police officers currently providing security for VIPs in the country. Henceforth, police authorities will deploy them to concentrate on their core police duties. In view of the current security challenges facing the country, President Tinubu is desirous of boosting police presence in all communities.”
The redeployment addresses a long-standing shortage in community policing, with just 371,800 officers serving Nigeria’s 236.7 million people, according to a November 2025 report by the European Union Agency for Asylum. Security experts have noted that assigning large numbers of officers to VIP protection has weakened rapid response and crime prevention, especially in remote areas.
VIP security responsibilities will now be handled by operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). The federal government has also approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers and is working with states to upgrade police training facilities nationwide.
The announcement follows reports that troops guarding St. Mary Private Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, were withdrawn shortly before armed men abducted dozens of schoolgirls. Defence authorities are reviewing troop redeployment patterns to prevent similar lapses.
About the Author
