President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed that police officers attached to Very Important Persons, VIPs, be withdrawn with immediate effect.
The President gave this order during a high-level security briefing held in Abuja on Sunday.
According to a statement from the Presidency, the decision is aimed at returning more police officers to frontline security duties across the country.
The directive came after President Tinubu met with heads of key security agencies.
Those at the meeting included 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.
The President expressed concern that many communities, especially isolated ones, lack sufficient police presence.
He noted that this shortage has made crime prevention and response difficult in several states.
The Presidency revealed that “VIPs who want police protection will now request well-armed personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.”
This move is expected to ease pressure on the police force and allow officers to focus on core security operations.
President Tinubu has also approved the recruitment of 30,000 new police personnel.
The government is partnering with state authorities to upgrade police training facilities and improve operational capacity nationwide.
Security analysts say the directive may mark one of the biggest overhauls of VIP protection arrangements in recent years.
It also aligns with the President’s commitment to strengthen internal security and reduce the burden on existing police manpower.
In a related development, Politics Nigeria earlier reported President Tinubu’s recent order to security chiefs to intensify joint operations against bandits and insurgents, following a surge in violent attacks in parts of the North.