The Federal Government has moved to enforce a major shake-up in VIP security protection, following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s latest directive ordering the withdrawal of police personnel attached to prominent individuals across the country.
The order, which was handed down during a high-level security briefing in Abuja on Sunday, immediately triggered widespread redeployments within the Nigeria Police Force.
Top security chiefs attended the meeting, including the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; and the Director-General of the DSS, Tosin Adeola Ajayi.
In line with the President’s instruction, the Police Mobile Force (PMF) has now issued a formal recall for all officers posted to 20 high-ranking figures.
The directive came specifically from the 50 PMF Squadron in Kubwa, Abuja, with a clear mandate that every affected officer must return to base by 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 27, 2025.
The internal memo, referenced AB: 4087/FCT/50PMF/VOL.10/ and signed by CSP Suleiman Abdullahi, listed several top names whose escorts must be withdrawn. They include former Vice Presidents Atiku Abubakar and Namadi Sambo; FCT Minister Nyesom Wike; former First Lady Aisha Buhari; Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun; and the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III.
Others captured in the document are:
– Chief Judge of Nigeria
– Minister of State for Labour
– Senator Tanko Al-Makura
– APC Women Leader
– Alhaji Kamba
– Hon. Ngozi Iweala
– Senator Ahmed Lawal
– Hon. Khalifa Abdul
– Hon. Yusuf Gagdi
– Dr. Ramatu Tijjani
– Hon. Vetra
– Hon. Moses Ternege
– Managing Director, Barelco
– Engineer Okeke
– Hon. Ibrahim Massari
The squadron directed all withdrawn personnel to resume immediately for redeployment and further briefing.
This move marks the second wave of internal enforcement since the presidency ordered the dissolution of VIP police protection.
Earlier in the week, another police unit—SPU Base 16 in Lagos—had already issued a similar directive asking its officers to abandon all VIP beats and return to their command headquarters.
The memo from Lagos, signed by Neji Veronica, reiterated the President’s orders and instructed officers to report “before the end of today, Monday, 24/11/2025.”
Under the new security arrangement, individuals seeking close protection will have to request assistance from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), which has now been assigned the responsibility of VIP protection.
Presidency insiders frame the move as an attempt to fix the acute manpower shortage affecting policing at community and divisional levels.
Many rural areas have been operating with skeleton staff, while hundreds of officers remained attached to private individuals.
The administration believes redirecting these officers back to operational duties will strengthen national security, improve response times, and allow the police to reclaim roles that had been weakened due to manpower diversion.