Following Tinubu’s Directive, Police Issue Order for Arrest of Officers on VIP Escort

The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has issued a strict nationwide directive ordering the immediate arrest of any police officer found providing personal security to Very Important Persons (VIPs) outside official duties.

The order, contained in a confidential wireless message dated November 30, 2025, follows a presidential directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, mandating the withdrawal of all police officers from such private protection roles.

The police memo, marked “very important,” was addressed to all Assistant Inspectors General of Police, Commissioners of Police, and heads of specialized units including the Mobile Police Force, VIP Protection Unit, and Counter-Terrorism Force.

It reads in part: “Following the presidential directive to withdraw, all states to arrest any police officer found escorting any VIP in your Area of Responsibility. Disciplinary actions will also be activated against any erring supervising officer.”

The directive warns that not only will offending officers be arrested, but their supervising officers will also face disciplinary action for failing to ensure compliance.

Enforcement has been restricted to Command Police X-Squads and the IGP’s Monitoring Unit to ensure strict and coordinated implementation across all police commands and formations. The memo emphasized that no further reminders would be issued.

President Tinubu had issued the initial order on November 23, 2025, during a high-level security meeting in Abuja. The meeting included the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Waidi Shaibu; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; the IGP; and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Adeola Ajayi.

Under the new policy, VIPs seeking personal protection are to request well-armed personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), effectively moving the responsibility away from the police force.

The move is widely seen as part of the administration’s efforts to address Nigeria’s worsening insecurity by redeploying police manpower to core law enforcement and community protection duties, especially in underserved and remote areas where police presence has been critically low.

The development has sparked discussions on the longstanding practice of VIPs using police officers as personal security details, a tradition often criticized for diverting essential security resources from the general public.