A former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Idris Wase, has revealed that bandits are issuing threats to abduct members of the National Assembly.

He raised the alarm on Wednesday, Nov. 26, during the continuation of the House debate on Nigeria’s escalating security crisis.

Rep asks Tinubu to review police withdrawal

Wase urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reconsider his recent directive withdrawing police officers from guarding Very Important Personalities (VIPs). According to him, the rising trend of violent attacks and kidnapping across the country makes lawmakers even more vulnerable.

President Tinubu had, on Sunday, Nov. 23, ordered police officers attached to VIPs nationwide to return to their bases. The directive, issued during a high-level security meeting in Abuja with Service Chiefs and the DSS Director-General, mandated that officers of the Police Special Protection Unit (SPU) be redeployed to focus on core policing duties.

NSCDC personnel assigned to VIPs

Under the new arrangement, VIPs in need of armed protection must now make formal requests to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) instead of the Nigeria Police Force.

The Presidency said the decision was taken to enhance police presence in underserved communities, particularly rural and remote areas where police stations are understaffed and residents are frequently targeted by criminals.

Wase, however, warned that the withdrawal of police protection from lawmakers and other key individuals at a time of worsening insecurity could have unintended consequences.