President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed his directive for police officers to be withdrawn from Very Important Persons and returned to core policing duties.
He simultaneously tasked Vice-President Kashim Shettima with leading an initiative to establish ranches across the country.
Speaking before Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, Tinubu expressed frustration with the slow pace of compliance with his initial order. “I honestly believe in what I said…It should be effected. If you have any problem because of the nature of your assignment, contact the IGP and get my clearance,” he stated.
He directed the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to coordinate with the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to immediately replace the withdrawn police escorts to avoid leaving individuals unprotected.
Framing the move as a response to a surge in kidnappings, the President emphasized the need to fully deploy all security forces. “We are facing challenges of kidnapping. We need all the forces we have on the ground, fully utilised,” he said.
In a related security measure, Tinubu also disclosed that forest guards would be armed, instructing the National Security Adviser to oversee the process.
On the economic front, the President assigned Vice-President Shettima to use the National Economic Council to identify and rehabilitate grazing reserves into ranches. This initiative aims to reduce farmer-herder conflicts and formalize the livestock economy.
“We must eliminate the possibility of conflicts and turn the Livestock reform into economically viable development,” Tinubu said, urging state governments to collaborate under the constitutional framework that places land ownership under their authority.
This renewed directive follows an earlier order on November 23 to withdraw police details from VIPs, issued after a series of mass kidnappings. The president’s latest instructions also come a day after Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka publicly criticized the excessive security entourage of the president’s son, Seyi Tinubu.
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