ABUJA, Nigeria — President Bola Tinubu has directed the immediate withdrawal of police officers attached to VIPs across the country, ordering their redeployment to core policing duties in communities as part of a sweeping security reform aimed at strengthening public safety.
The directive was issued on Sunday, November 23, 2025, during a high-level security meeting at the State House attended by Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun; Chief of Army Staff Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Air Staff Sunday Kelvin Aneke; and Director-General of the Department of State Services Tosin Adeola Ajayi.
According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, Tinubu said the redeployment is intended to address the shortage of officers in underserved and remote areas.
“Many parts of Nigeria, especially remote areas, have few policemen at the stations, thus making the task of protecting and defending the people difficult,” the statement said.
Under the new arrangement, VIPs who require armed escorts will be expected to make requests to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps rather than the police.
The move is aimed at freeing up thousands of police personnel currently assigned to politicians, businessmen and other influential individuals.
Tinubu, who has been coordinating national security responses in recent days following mass abductions in Kebbi, Kwara and Niger states, said officers must “concentrate on their core police duties” at a time when many communities remain vulnerable to bandit attacks and other threats.
To bolster the redeployment, the president also approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers nationwide.
Plans are underway to upgrade police training facilities in partnership with state governments to improve operational readiness and professionalism.
The presidency described the decision as part of a broader national security strategy aimed at rebuilding public trust and strengthening frontline law enforcement.
The directive comes amid heightened concerns over spiralling insecurity across the country, with recent mass kidnappings in schools and churches prompting calls for urgent restructuring of security deployments.
Implementation of the new policy is expected to begin immediately, though the Nigeria Police Force has yet to release full operational guidelines for the withdrawal and redeployment process.
