By our Reporter
The Nigeria Police Force has commenced a nationwide enforcement campaign targeting officers providing unauthorized escort services to VIPs, following a new directive from the Presidency aimed at curbing the misuse of police manpower.
A wireless signal circulated to all commands and specialised units on November 30, 2025, signed by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, classified as “very important,” instructed commissioners of police, zonal AIGs, Mobile Police units, the VIP Protection Unit, Counter-Terrorism squads, and federal operational units to apprehend any officer seen escorting individuals without formal approval. Disciplinary action is also to be taken against supervising officers who fail to enforce the order.
The memo specifies that only the Compol X-Squad and the IGP’s Monitoring Unit are authorised to carry out enforcement and warned that no further reminders would be issued. “Following the presidential directive to withdraw, all states [are] to arrest any police officer found escorting any VIP in AOR yours,” the communication stated.
The clampdown follows President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive on November 23, 2025, ordering the withdrawal of police personnel attached to VIPs nationwide. The decision was reached at a high-level security meeting in Abuja attended by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; the IGP; and DSS Director-General Tosin Adeola Ajayi.
Under the new security framework, VIPs seeking armed protection must now apply to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) rather than the police. Presidency officials said the measure is part of a broader strategy to address growing insecurity, especially in rural and underserved communities, where police presence has been reduced as officers take up private protection duties.
