President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate withdrawal and redeployment of an estimated 100,000 police officers currently assigned to protect Very Important Persons (VIPs) and politicians.
The directive, issued during a security meeting in Abuja on Sunday, is aimed towards boosting the police presence in communities and enhancing counter-insurgency operations amid the escalating crisis of mass abductions in the northern states. The move comes as Nigeria deals with multiple mass abductions, including students in Kebbi and Niger states, and the 38 Kwara church worshippers, who were released last weekend due to the President’s personal oversight.
The decision to redeploy the officers addresses decade long critique from security experts and media organizations, who argue that the diversion of a large portion of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to VIP duties compromises public safety and integrity.
The NPF has an estimated strength of only 371,800 officers serving a population of approximately 236.7 million people. The President stated that VIPs and politically exposed persons requiring security presence will now be assigned armed operatives from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) instead of the police.
The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the order;
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the withdrawal of police officers currently providing security for Very Important Persons in the country. Henceforth, police authorities will deploy them to concentrate on their core police duties… President Tinubu is desirous of boosting police presence in all communities
The simultaneous closure of schools across multiple northern states, including Kebbi’s sweeping shutdown of all public and private secondary and tertiary institutions, has drawn criticism.
Col. Ahmed Usman (retd.), Special Adviser on Security to the Sokoto State Governor, expressed discontentment about the shutdown of schools:
Protecting students and teachers is paramount, but closing schools should not become the default whenever threats emerge. Such actions are a serious setback and encourage the perpetrators
While many Nigerians applauded the closures of schools by the government as a necessary precaution to safeguard students from targeted attacks.
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