By Lawrence Okedare, Rukayat Abdulraheem and Haliru Idris
Following last Sunday’s order by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, there are indications that the Police authorities have commenced immediate implementation of the withdrawal of police officers currently providing security for Very Important Persons (VIPs) across the country.
The President had directed the police authorities to henceforth deploy the officers to concentrate on their core police duties.
The presidential directive was issued during a security meeting held by President Tinubu with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Ajayi in Abuja.
The Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy) Mr Bayo Onanuga disclosed on Tuesday in a post on his Facebook account that police authorities have commenced implementation of the presidential order to withdraw police officers guarding VIPs.
Onanuga cited a letter issued in Lagos by ‘The Nigeria Police Protect 16’ dated November 24, 2025, and signed for the Commanding Officer, SPU BASE 16, Lagos by Assistant Superintendent of Police Neji Veronica (Admin Officer).
The letter reads: “Sequel to the directive of Mr. President and C-in-C of the armed forces on the withdrawal of Police personnelattached to VIPs, the Commanding Officer directs with immediate effectthe withdrawal of all personnel of SPU Base 16 attached to VIPs/Beats across the federation back to Base. You are all warned to report back before the end of today, Monday 24/11/2025 and all to attend the Lecture Parade tomorrow. Attendance shall be taken from the nominal roll.
“This is for your information and strict compliance.”
According to last Sunday’s presidential directive, VIPs who desire police protection will henceforth request well-armed personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
It is recalled by theheraldnews.ng that as part of efforts to make the task of protecting and defending Nigerians less difficult, President Tinubu had approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers.
