The Nigeria Police Force has warned that any officer found providing escorts or protection to Very Important Persons will be arrested, describing such assignments as “illegal duty” under fresh directives from Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.

Police spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, issued the alert on Tuesday during a live engagement on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He said, “The enforcement is on. The IGP gave the directive that any police officer found escorting VIPs be arrested because, definitely, he is on illegal duty. Every one of them has been recalled.”

Hundeyin revealed that the Inspector-General dispatched firm orders to top police command layers, including airport dragnet deployment points.

Hundeyin said, “The IGP ordered the AIG SPU [Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Special Protection Unit] to go to the Abuja airport and station his men there and arrest any police officer found escorting VIPs.

“He gave the same order to the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State to go to the Lagos airport and arrest any police officer escorting VIPs. That’s how seriously we take this.”

Hundeyin stressed that the policing order was not influenced by auction prices, highest-bidder politics, or partisan payback subplots.

President Tinubu had ordered the withdrawal of VIP escorts to support internal policing capacity.