ABUJA, Nigeria — The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s directive ordering the withdrawal of police officers assigned to very important personalities (VIPs), describing the decision as a superficial response to Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.
Tinubu on Sunday, November 23, 2025, directed that police personnel attached to VIPs across the country be immediately withdrawn and redeployed to core policing functions within communities.
The presidency said the measure was aimed at strengthening public safety by increasing the number of officers available for routine security duties.
A statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, said the president believed redeployment would enhance policing at the grassroots.
But in a response on Monday, November 24, 2025, Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the ADC, said the directive amounted to “grandstanding” and reflected “a poor grasp of the depth and complexity of Nigeria’s security challenges.”
Abdullahi noted that similar announcements had been made twice in 2025 by the Inspector-General of Police, suggesting that the latest order “makes for good headlines” but fell short of offering substantive solutions to terrorism, banditry, mass kidnappings, and violent crime.
“This dramatic gesture of withdrawing police protection from VIPs may pander to populist sentiment, but it does not address the problem,” he said.
The government has indicated that the move would free up as many as 100,000 police officers for deployment nationwide.
Abdullahi, however, dismissed the figure as unrealistic, arguing that Nigeria’s security problem is not rooted in manpower shortages.
He added that even the military struggles when confronting insurgent groups, and that police officers are neither adequately trained, equipped, nor motivated to undertake the demands of counter-insurgency operations.
The ADC spokesperson also questioned the rationale behind replacing police officers with personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), whose core responsibilities include disaster management and community protection, not high-risk security assignments.
Abdullahi said Nigeria requires a coherent national security strategy supported by intelligence, modernisation, and collaboration across security agencies, rather than what he called “cosmetic” measures.
He challenged the federal government to release data proving that 100,000 officers are currently attached to VIPs and to present a detailed operational plan for redeploying the withdrawn personnel.
“Redeploying officers without a strategic framework is meaningless,” he said.
“The Tinubu government must move beyond pronouncements and press briefings and begin the holistic overhaul of Nigeria’s national security architecture.”
The presidency has yet to respond to the ADC’s criticisms.
