President Bola Tinubu has ordered the withdrawal of an estimated 100,000 police officers attached to political officeholders, VIPs, and influential individuals, directing that they be reassigned to critical policing and counter-insurgency operations across the country.
The directive was announced after a high-level security meeting attended by the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Inspector-General of Police, and the Director-General of the DSS.
The Presidency said Nigeria cannot sustain a system in which a significant portion of its 371,800-strong police force is tied up in VIP protection while communities remain exposed to rising banditry and mass abductions.
VIPs requiring protection will henceforth request armed personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) rather than the police.
Tinubu also approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers and a nationwide upgrade of police training institutions.
Security analysts say the directive signals a decisive shift toward strengthening community protection as attacks sweep across the North-Central, North-West, and Federal Capital Territory margins.
