Abuja: President Bola Tinubu has ordered the withdrawal of Police personnel attached to ‘Very Important Persons’ (VIPs) nationwide, directing that the officers be redeployed to strengthen core policing duties across communities.
This followed a security meeting the President held on Sunday in Abuja with service chiefs, the Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of the Department of State Services.
In a statement issued by Presidential spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu directed that VIPs requiring protection should henceforth obtain armed security personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
The President stated that many remote communities lacked adequate police presence, a gap he said was undermining effective protection and response efforts.
He said boosting police deployments nationwide had become necessary given the country’s current security challenges.
Onanuga added that Tinubu had already approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police personnel, while the Federal Government was collaborating with the States to upgrade police training facilities.
Those at Sunday’s meeting included the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Director-General of DSS, Tosin Ajayi.
