Over 11,000 police officers recalled from VIPs – IG

Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on Thursday, said the recent presidential directive withdrawing police personnel from Very Important Persons (VIPs) is a strategic realignment aimed at strengthening frontline policing and protecting vulnerable communities across the country.

Egbetokun made the remarks while addressing journalists in Abuja at a meeting with senior police commanders.

He said the decision to recall officers from VIP security duties was not driven by sentiment but by the urgent need to channel manpower to areas where public safety demands are highest.

According to him, the move aligns with the core mandate of the Nigeria Police Force, which is the protection of citizens, communities, and public order.

He added that a total of 11,566 personnel withdrawn from VIP duties had been redeployed.

“In line with the President’s directive, we have withdrawn a total of 11,566 personnel from VIP protection. These officers are being redeployed to critical policing duties immediately,” he said.

The IGP explained that the withdrawal would enable the police to expand manpower deployment for rural and township security, large-scale population protection, intensified patrols, intelligence-led operations, and rapid response to emerging threats.

He warned that the implementation of the VIP withdrawal directive would be carefully managed to prevent misinformation, impersonation, or exploitation by criminal elements.

Detailed guidelines, he said, would be released soon.

“The withdrawal is not a retreat from responsibility, but a reclamation of it,” Egbetokun added.

He noted that recent security incidents—including abductions in Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger states—have reinforced the need to reposition the force and strengthen visibility and deterrence across the country.

Egbetokun said that although security agencies responded swiftly to the attacks, the incidents created the impression in some quarters that the police were not doing enough.

“We may not be doing enough, but it is not that we are not working. We are actually doing something. But as leaders, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard,” he said.

The IGP disclosed that the force had achieved notable operational successes in recent weeks, including the arrest of 8,202 suspects for various offences and the rescue of 232 kidnapped victims.

He added, “The Nigerian Police Force has achieved multiple operational outcomes across strategic formations and tactical response structures, including 451 armed robbery suspects, 356 kidnapping suspects, 534 murder suspects, 129 culpable homicide suspects, 173 persons for unlawful possession of firearms, 312 suspected rapists, and 282 suspected cultists. In addition, 6,094 other suspects were arrested for various serious offences.”

He also listed the recovery of 249 firearms, nearly 21,000 rounds of ammunition, and 238 vehicles.

Egbetokun said the police were adopting stronger intelligence frameworks, deeper community engagement, and enhanced inter-agency collaboration to outmanoeuvre criminals.

With the festive season approaching, he directed all state commands to activate enhanced patrols, highway visibility operations, and community-focused policing strategies, including the deployment of drones and AI-driven surveillance tools.

“As we approach the festive season, the nation will witness its highest annual travel activity. Citizens returning home to celebrate with family and communities, criminals will seek to exploit the roads.

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“Therefore, the roads must be decisively dominated by proactive policing and preparedness. I hereby charge each state command to activate festive deployment and operational plans.

“This will include expanded highway patrol teams, reinforced foot patrol units at motor parks, anti-robbery dragnet patrols on high-traffic roads, intelligence-backed vehicular patrols for rural corridors, and inter-service collaboration patrols to guarantee route safety across all national highways. It will also cover township entry and exit points, market transit routes, and community travel corridors.

“Employ the use of artificial intelligence in policing strategies, including drones and other technical assets. Every command must track operational hours and presence metrics as performance indicators for the December deployment,” Egbetokun said.

ValidViewNetwork reported that President Bola Tinubu on Sunday directed the withdrawal of police officers from VIP security duties and ordered that the personnel be reassigned to core policing functions.

The directive followed a security meeting held in Abuja with service chiefs and the Director-General of the Department of State Services.