…faults planned withdrawal of police from VIPs

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has cautioned President Bola Tinubu against what it described as a “cosmetic” approach to tackling the country’s security challenges.

The party, reacting to the President’s directive withdrawing policemen from Very Important Personalities (VIPs), noted that the Police are not suited for the kind of insecurity the nation is currently facing.

The government had on Sunday ordered the immediate withdrawal of policemen from VIPs as part of measures to strengthen its security architecture.

But Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC spokesman, in a statement on Monday, described the directive as “political grandstanding” that will not yield any meaningful results in combating the country’s security crisis.

Read also: Tinubu orders withdrawal of police from VIPs, approves recruitment of 30,000 officers

The party likened it to the “same old move,” adding that it “confirms the government’s lack of appreciation of the complexity of the security situation in the country and what needs to be done.”

The ADC called for a comprehensive national security strategy that integrates all security agencies into a coordinated counter-insurgency force.

“While the directive makes for good headlines, it is not new and demonstrates the government’s lack of understanding of the true nature and complexity of Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.

“A country battling terrorism, banditry, mass abductions, and violent crime cannot afford to confuse public relations for policy.”

The party also expressed fear that like similar directives given by the government earlier, this directive may not achieve any positive implementation.

“This is not the first time we are hearing this from the APC government. In 2025 alone, such order has been given twice by the IGP, whom we believe was acting on the directive of the President. But nothing happened.

“Nevertheless, even if the President succeeds in relieving the police of VIP duties, we must face the bigger concern that by their training, mentality and orientation, these policemen are ill-suited and ill-equipped for the desperate emergency that we face.

“Therefore, the dramatic gesture of withdrawing police protection from VIPs may pander to populist sentiment, but it does not address the problem.”

The party also dismissed government claims that this announcement would add 100,000 men to the police, adding that “While this may fill some gaps in numerical strength, the real problem is not the number. It is the fact that even our military are finding it difficult to cope with the sophistication and adaptability of the insurgents, not to talk of police men who are ill equipped, ill trained and ill motivated for the complex task of counter-insurgency.

“We find it even more intriguing that while withdrawing policemen from the VIPs, the government is replacing them with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSDC) whose mandate include Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, community protection and educating the people on safety measures.”

According to the Party, “Nigeria’s security challenges must be addressed comprehensively, not cosmetically. What the country needs is not the reshuffling of personnel for headlines, but a coherent national security strategy anchored in modernisation, intelligence, and institutional integration.

“For the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to do this work, they must be restructured, re-equipped, and retrained to confront today’s threats with suitable tools. This work is urgent, and half measures will not suffice.

“Moreover, this government must tell Nigerians the truth. Where is the data supporting the claim that 100,000 officers have been withdrawn from VIP duties?

“Where is the operational plan? Where are the tools, logistics, and systems to ensure that these officers, who are used to being escorts to VIPs, can be effective in the field? Merely redeploying policemen without clarity about the role they are expected to play within a larger framework and strategy specifically designed to deal with insurgency and terrorism is meaningless.”

The ADC therefore believes that if the Tinubu government is truly serious about securing the nation, adding that “It must move beyond pronouncements and press briefings, and begin the holistic overhaul of Nigeria’s national security architecture.”