The withdrawal of police personnel attached to VIPs

IN what seems like a continuation of steps being taken by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to repair its image with the Nigerian public following the #EndSARS protests, the Inspector-General of Police, (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, last week ordered the withdrawal of all police personnel attached to Very Important Persons (VIP) across the country with immediate effect. According to reports in the media, the wireless message containing the IGP’s order was copied to all police formations in different part of the country, with a stern warning that “Any protect personnel found escorting or guarding any VIP with or without a firearm is deemed to be deployed by the Commander and the commander will be sanctioned.” Exempted from the IGP’s order are police personnel attached to government houses, the Senate President, and the Speaker of House of Representatives.

We commend Inspector-General Adamu for taking this bold step and identify with him in what appears to be an attempt to rein in this ugly aspect of the VIP culture in Nigeria. We hold no grudge against important people (sic). All we are asking for is that they bear the cost of their own “importance,” meaning that anyone who needs concierge security is free to contract the services of one of the tens of thousands of private security outfits in the country. The current practice whereby private citizens with deep pockets induce police commanders to release their officers to them on a ‘pay-per-view’ basis is not only corrupting of individual commanders, it stretches thin the resources of a Force that is already woefully undermanned and under-resourced.

Nevertheless, while we fully support the IGP’s directive, we are not oblivious of the steep climb that lies ahead of him in terms of implementation. Already, there are reports that his directive is being shunned by many of the affected police personnel. With respect to this, IGP Adamu has both the force of law and morality on his side, and he should not hesitate to come down hard on such dissidents. On a more disturbing note, however, we recall that this is not the first time that such a directive has come down from the Force headquarters in Abuja, only for the sting to be eventually drawn out of it. For instance, in March 2018, Mr. Adamu’s immediate predecessor, former IGP Ibrahim Idris, had issued one such order. Not only that, he constituted a Task Force under the Command of ACP Mohammed Adamu Dan Kwara to see to its implementation, all to no avail.

We say this not to discourage the Inspector-General of Police, but to underscore the reality that the road that lies ahead will, if experience is anything to go by, be rough indeed. The monetization and privatization of law enforcement is just one of the many ills dogging the Nigeria Police Force. The IGP’s directive is an important start.

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