Withdrawal of escorts: Fear grips VIPs as police plan modalities

Fear has gripped very important persons, VIPs, in the country, following directives by President Bola Tinubu that police escorts currently providing security for them be withdrawn.

Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, had said in a statement Sunday that, henceforth, police authorities would deploy them to concentrate on their core police duties, adding that VI’s who needed police protection would now request well-armed personnel from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC.

Based on this development, police sources said the affected VIPs had been inundating police headquarters with calls seeking more clarifications over the development and expressing fears, based on the prevailing security situation in the country.

According to the sources, their major concern is the ability of the NSCDC personnel to adequately protect them. One of them was quoted as saying it would be very difficult for personnel of the civil defence corps to render the services they required because of their training and equipment.

“He told us that it will be like engaging boys scouts to protect them as the mobile policemen they normally engage are more agile and battle-ready to confront any situation,” a source said.

Another VIP told Vanguard: “The practice of providing police escorts to high ranking officers and VIP’s has become a major feature of the security landscape in Nigeria but it must be noted that as the country grapples with growing security concerns, the use of police personnel for VIP protection has raised significant questions about its broader implications on public safety and the overall effectiveness of the police force.”

He called for rationalisation of the exercise to serve the purpose, rather than a blanket stoppage which, according to him, will increase the prevailing fears of insecurity in the society. “The justification behind this practice often rests on the high-profile nature of individuals involved, the perceived threat to their safety, and the desire to project power and influence. ‘’While these measures are meant to offer security for influential figures, the broader implication is that they come at a high cost to the public, both in terms of the security resources diverted and the moral perception of a system that favours the few over the many,’’ he said.

However, a serving police officer who pleaded anonymity, told Vanguard that the fundamental question that arose was whether the allocation of police officers to VIPs compromised the ability of the police to respond effectively to criminal activities within communities.

“In a country grappling with a wide range of security threats, including insurgencies, armed robberies, kidnappings, and communal violence, the use of law enforcement personnel to safeguard individuals who can afford private security is a cause for concern,” the officer said.
He also revealed that the growing demand for VIP protection significantly impacted the distribution of resources across the force.

“Police patrol teams in certain areas are often understaffed, and response times to distress calls are prolonged as a result of the overwhelming number of officers assigned to VIP duties. In some cases, police officers are redirected from high-crime areas to provide convoy escorts, leaving already vulnerable communities to fend for themselves,’’ he added.

A source within Force’s headquarters in Abuja said “we have several cases where a unit is deployed for an entire day to protect a governor or a businessman, and that leaves their assigned zones with fewer officers to patrol. ‘’It is a major logistical challenge, and it undermines the overall effectiveness of policing.”

A human rights activist, Tony Udemmadu, in his comment, stated: “The most concerning aspect of VIP police escorts is their potential to undermine public trust in law enforcement. The Nigerian public increasingly perceives the practice as a symbol of inequality. ‘’While the elite enjoy protection and attention from the police, ordinary Nigerians often find themselves facing mounting insecurity without sufficient resources or support from the police.

“In regions plagued by violent crimes, such as the Niger Delta or the Northeast, the absence of visible police presence due to escort assignments exacerbates the already precarious situation for citizens.”

When Vanguard called Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, over the number of police personnel involved, modalities for the withdrawal and the date of take off, he promised to get back to our reporter but at press time, he was yet to send a reply.

VIP police withdrawal mere drama, not strategy — ADC

Meanwhile, African Democratic Congress, ADC, has lashed out at President Bola Tinubu over his directive withdrawing police officers from VIP protection, describing the move as political theatre that does little to address Nigeria’s deepening security crisis.

The party warned that the administration appears more focused on optics than on developing a real strategy to confront terrorism, banditry, and mass abductions.

In a statement by the party’s spokesperson, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the government’s repeated reliance on the same tactic showed a worrying lack of understanding of the complexity of the country’s security challenges.

“While the directive makes for good headlines, it is not new and demonstrates the government’s lack of understanding of the true nature and complexity of Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.
‘’A country battling terrorism, banditry, mass abductions, and violent crime cannot afford to confuse public relations for policy,” Abdullahi said.

The ADC noted that this was not the first time such an instruction had been issued, recalling that in 2025 alone, similar orders were announced twice by the Inspector-General of Police, apparently on presidential directive, without any tangible results.

“To start with, this is not the first time we are hearing this from the APC government. In 2025 alone, such order has been given twice by the IGP, whom we believe was acting on the directive of the President. But nothing happened,” the party noted.

Abdullahi argued that even if the latest directive was fully implemented, it still missed the broader point; that the police, by their current training and orientation, were not equipped to take on the scale and sophistication of Nigeria’s security emergencies.

“Nevertheless, even if the President succeeds in relieving the police of VIP duties, we must face the bigger concern that by their training, mentality and orientation, these policemen are ill-suited and ill-equipped for the desperate emergency that we face,” he declared.

The ADC also questioned the government’s claim that the withdrawal would free up 100,000 officers for frontline security duties, insisting that the issue was not about numbers but capability.

While noting that even the military was struggling against the evolving tactics of insurgents, Abdullahi said: “The government claims that this announcement would add 100,000 men to the police. While this may fill some gaps in numerical strength, the real problem is not the number.

‘’It is the fact that even our military are finding it difficult to cope with the sophistication and adaptability of the insurgents, not to talk of police men who are ill equipped, ill trained and ill motivated for the complex task of counter-insurgency.’’