Tinubu tightens VIP security policy, orders ministers to seek Presidential clearance for escorts

‎President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday issued a directive that all ministers and senior government officials must obtain his personal approval before requesting police escorts for any official engagement.
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‎The instruction was delivered during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, where the President stressed that the redeployment of police officers from VIP protection to core policing duties is non-negotiable.
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‎The new directive aims to ensure uniformity and compliance with the national security objective of addressing manpower shortages in the Nigerian Police Force (NPF).
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‎Ministers and officials with genuine security needs must first contact the IGP and get my clearance for any police escort request.
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‎VIPs are now expected to request well-armed personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for personal and special duty protection.
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‎President Tinubu directed the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Police Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam; and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to ensure the full implementation of the withdrawal.
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‎To fill the manpower gaps and strengthen community structures, the President approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers, pledged collaboration with state governments to upgrade police training facilities, directed the NSA and DSS to review and adjust the country’s security architecture and also urged Vice President Kashim Shettima to sensitize governors on the implementation of ranching reforms, emphasizing that land belongs to the state and directing the Minister of Livestock Development to identify grazing areas for rehabilitation.
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‎The directive was criticised over its alleged selective application, by some members of the Senate and prominent public figure. Senator Abdul Ningi, who is a PDP senator representing Bauchi Central, argued that the enforcement was unfairly selective, as ministers, business elites, including Chinese companies, sons and daughters of political office holders, and entertainers still carry heavy security presence.
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‎The Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin acknowledged the concern, assured that the Senate leadership was engaging the Presidency, and directed the Committee on Police Affairs to investigate the alleged selective application.
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‎Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka also criticized the excessive deployment of security personnel around the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu.
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‎Soyinka recounted witnessing what he described as a whole battalion of about 15 heavily armed security personnel attached to Seyi Tinubu at a Lagos hotel.
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‎Soyinka stated that President Tinubu did not need to deploy the military to quell the recent instability in the Benin Republic, stressing that the security personnel attached to his son were sufficient to take over a small neighbouring country like Benin.
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‎He stated that  public office should not confer undue privilege or power on family members, emphasizing that such display distorts national security priorities.
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