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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the immediate withdrawal of police officers attached to Very Important Persons (VIPs) across the country, a move aimed at strengthening community policing and tackling rising insecurity in many parts of Nigeria.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the development in a statement issued Sunday night.
He said directive was issued on Sunday during a high-level security meeting the President held in Abuja with service chiefs and the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Under the new arrangement, VIPs requiring personal protection will now request armed security personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), allowing the police to refocus on their primary duty of protecting lives and property nationwide.
The Presidency noted that many rural communities across Nigeria suffer from inadequate police presence, a situation that has complicated response efforts in the face of persistent security threats. President Tinubu, according to officials, is determined to reverse this trend by ensuring more officers are deployed to underserved areas.
To this end, the President has approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers as part of a broad effort to reposition the force. The Federal Government is also partnering with state governments to upgrade police training facilities across the country.
The meeting was attended by 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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