What’s your opinion on President Tinubu’s withdrawal of police personnel from VIPs amid security challenges?

Following the backlashes stemming from the kidnapping of students in Kebbi, Niger, and Kwara states, and the abduction of Christian worshippers in Kwara, President Bola Tinubu has ordered the withdrawal of police personnel from Very Important Persons (VIPs). KINGSLEY ALUMONA sampled the opinions of some Nigerians on this matter. Their views:

Idowu Kayode

President Tinubu’s decision to withdraw police personnel from VIPs is necessary and long overdue. Ordinary Nigerians who elect presidents, governors, local government chairmen, and councilors no longer have adequate access to police protection, largely because of our population size and the insufficient number of police personnel available nationwide. While the United Nations recommends one police officer for every 450 citizens, Nigeria has fewer than 400,000 officers serving over 220 million people. In the face of rising insecurity, it is unjust for a significant portion of our police force to be assigned to VIP escorts. Every citizen deserves equal access to security. No life is more valuable than another.

Sunday Ikhidero

This is a great development. It is an opportunity for investors to invest in private security. If you want guards, go and hire private guards. Though we know this order might not last — in a few weeks, they will return to the status quo. The president should withdraw military guards, too. Most retired officers have military officers as guards too.

Sulaimon Bello

This is one of the best decisions that Mr President has made. Most of the so-called VIPs are secretly behind the current insecurity in Nigeria because of their political demands and interests. This will curb insecurity because they would need to secure themselves and their families first before instigating insecurity. They need to watch their backs because they are vulnerable now, before ransom would be demanded on their heads.

Isaiah Ekpenyong

The order, though a welcome development, is also defective in respect to asking VIPs to approach civil defense for such protections. The police should face their core policing duties. Civil defense should be allowed to face the duties for which it was established, that is, guarding critical government infrastructures. The government should allow the establishment of private armed security organisations to cater to VIP protection.

Odiaka Nwanji

It is a step in the right direction. However, certain citizens must be protected due to the offices they occupy and the security risks involved. The Department of State Services (DSS) and other private security outfits could handle that, while the police focus on internal security. The police should be removed from checkpoints on some roads and reoriented to focus on their core duties.

Tony Ogbe

Such an order is not debatable because it is long overdue. The worst of this age-long awkward practice is the act of Nigerian police men holding umbrellas over the heads of foreigners in the country. The same applies to the opening and closing of automobile doors for them. You cannot find such treatment for Africans in Asia, the Americas, or Europe. We as a people must desist from denigrating ourselves, our nation, and our continent. Respect, they say, is earned, not given.

Olusegun Adedeji

This may be only paperwork. Even if it is real, it would not last up to six months due to pressure from the VIPs.

Stephen Ìrókò

It is a good move, if effective. Instead of deploying NSCDC officers to VIPs, let the VIPs contact private security companies for their security. Let NSCDC also join the fight against insecurity. Furthermore, let the president reduce the security men in Aso Rock, state government houses, national assemblies by 70 per cent to have more officers to fight insecurity.

Ayebanua Friday

It is a welcome development, which would enable the police to adequately provide the needed security personnel in and around hot spots. The VIPs should engage the services of private security firms and not the civil defense personnel trained with tax payers’ money.

Marcus Yakubu

What is the stand of the Nigeria constitution concerning this? Just go by the constitution directives. Where in the constitution does not warrant that security should be stripped off VIPs, but if the constitution allows police personnel to be attached to VIPs, then the government has to recruit more personnel to meet up with the security challenges. It is a good move. However, the problem is not that the personnel are not sufficient, but are the officers ready to work? Secondly, is the government ready to ward off terrorists? Would the government provide good equipment for the police? It is sad that the government is not ready to arrest terrorist enablers and prosecute terrorists; rather, they are arresting and harassing lawful citizens. Howbeit, would that work? They are just playing politics with people’s lives. They said that citizens do not have the right to defend themselves against their killers. Would the police guide each citizen everywhere they go, and even when they are sleeping?

Adebayo Aka

This is a welcome development. For me, the president’s withdrawal of security details of VIPs, at a time like this, is to demonstrate the fact that we are all equal before the law and security wise. It is believed that the number of security personnel has depleted in view of their being killed daily, and therefore, the withdrawn personnel will join those available to strengthen our security force to fight insecurity. It is rather unfortunate that the present security monster confronting Nigeria stemmed from corruption and politics. It would not be a surprise if an intelligence report revealed that some politicians who want to discredit President Tinubu’s administration and create fear in certain communities are behind the rising acts of banditry, insecurity, and terrorism in the country.

Samuel Olakanla

This is better late than never. Imagine a large number of policemen stuck in different estates and GRAs across the country, just serving individuals. So, how many police personnel are left for the purpose of their primary duties? Another thing this government and successive government need to do is to stop the practice of appointing a junior officer as the head of the respective armed forces units (i.e., army, navy, air force, etc.), thereby forcing the superior ones to go on retirement. By this practice, the country loses their best officers whose resourcefulness can help in a lot of ways.

Abimbola Oyetunde

President Tinubu’s decision to withdraw police personnel from VIPs is timely and necessary, considering the serious security challenges the country is facing. Redirecting officers to communities would help strengthen public safety and improve police presence where it is most needed. Many VIPs can afford private security, but ordinary citizens rely completely on the police. If this policy is implemented with proper monitoring and fairness, it can boost response time and rebuild public trust in the country’s security system.

Daniel Raymond

President Tinubu’s decision to withdraw police personnel from VIPs is a bold move aimed at boosting security in Nigeria’s remote areas, where police presence is currently limited. The plan is to redeploy these officers to focus on core policing duties and enhance community policing. VIPs would now rely on the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps for protection. This decision is part of a broader effort to strengthen law enforcement, including recruiting 30,000 additional police officers and upgrading training facilities. We hope that something positive will come out of it and will be sustainable for ages.

Solomon Gbadero

The greatest joke is to expect President Tinubu to get the support of the VIPs and political gladiators on the issue of withdrawal of police security. Nigerians need to understand the need of supporting the executive on some decisions that have to do with the security of their community. Influential Nigerians could be wicked, but for the fact that the masses approach every issues with a biased mind and wrong emotions makes it difficult to understand some favourable executive’s decision in areas of security of the locals.

Oshodi Ayodele

Honestly, it is a welcome development. The Nigerian police are short of manpower, and we are all watching to know if the VIPs would adhere to the directive or not.

Joseph Ogunrinde

The president said nothing wrong. All Nigerians are VIPs and have equal rights to protection by the government. So, the police must shift attention from some particular individuals to the entire citizenry. That is fairness, equity, and justice.

Abiodun Adelani

Inadequate security in Nigeria cannot justify whether they would withdraw VIP security. Besides, the police cannot face bandits and insurgency alone.

Flexy Nobility

We need more than 20 million police officers to have some resemblance to security in Nigeria. While this move is good for now, the solution is state and local police because no country is protected by the federal police alone. We need more army, navy, air force personnel, and other paramilitaries too.

Christopher Ige-adubi

The withdrawal of police escorts from VIPs is long overdue. Many VIPs already have layers of protection from the DSS, civil defence, and other security outfits. At a time when the country is practically operating in a war-zone environment, we need every available security operative deployed to the field where they are most needed. This decision is timely, necessary, and deserves commendation.

Monsuru Kehinde

The decision is good because the police are primarily for security duties to the country, not for private individuals. Private individuals can have access to private security outfits. It is a way of boosting employment for private security firms. It would also allow the police to focus on their primary objectives.

Idris Lawali

That decision by the president may be a good one. However, there is a need to resuscitate their (police officers) lost capabilities through rigorous training and retraining. Their comfort for years with the VIPs may have made them lose their capabilities.