Arrest any officer escorting VIPs illegally – Police warn Commanders

The Nigeria Police Force has launched a nationwide enforcement drive to arrest any officer found providing unauthorised escort services to VIPs, following a fresh directive from the Presidency aimed at curbing the misuse of police personnel.

A wireless signal issued to all commands and tactical formations on November 30, 2025, and endorsed by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, ordered immediate compliance.

The communication, marked “very important,” instructed commissioners of police, zonal AIGs, Mobile Police units, the Special Protection Unit, Counter-Terrorism squads and federal operational teams to apprehend any officer discovered escorting individuals without approval from the Force Headquarters.

“Following the presidential directive to withdraw, all states [are] to arrest any police officer found escorting any VIP in AOR yours,” the memo stated. It also warned that supervisory officers who fail to enforce the order would face disciplinary action.

The directive emphasised that only the IGP Monitoring Unit and the Compol X-Squad have clearance to conduct enforcement, stressing that no further reminders would be issued.

The clampdown follows President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s November 23, 2025 directive ordering the withdrawal of police escorts attached to VIPs nationwide.

The decision was reached during a high-level security meeting in Abuja, attended by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; the IGP; and the Director-General of the DSS, Tosin Adeola Ajayi.

Under the new framework, VIPs requiring armed escorts must now formally apply to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), shifting responsibility away from the police.

Presidency officials say the measure is part of a broader effort to reinforce policing in underserved and high-risk communities, where police presence has gradually eroded as officers take up private VIP protection duties.

The administration believes the withdrawal will restore manpower to areas grappling with banditry, kidnapping and rural insecurity.

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