Police for hire

Prior to November 23, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave the order withdrawing policemen from guarding or escorting Very Important Personalities (VIPs), individuals, private or corporate organisations  interested in such services could walk into the police headquarters, zonal or state commands, fill out a form, pay the necessary fee and obtain the services of the number of policemen they required.

Multiple sources say their services have been in high demand due to the security challenges in the country with many who could afford it desiring to have police presence around them.

All that is required to be provided such personnel, according to a source, is to fill a request form with evidence of being of good character with a verifiable address and business.

Weekend Trust learnt that most time, the rigours of checking and verifying the supplied information are overlooked once payment is made and that an individual or firm can get as many as 12 police personnel if he can afford to pay their allowances.

Initially, intended to cater for political leaders, celebrities and those at risks, our correspondents were reliably informed that other categories of persons have found ways of benefitting from the service also.

One politician, who prefers not to be named, told our correspondent that he has seen people outside the aforementioned groups going about with police personnel.

“Even Yahoo boys, scammers and others are benefitting from such services so I think it’s time it is reviewed,” he said.

Another source, who gave his name simple as Sunny, said he used to hire the services of such personnel for his boss when the latter is travelling.

“My boss would usually send me to go to the command and see whoever is in charge and they release either one or two of their men to follow us just to avoid harassment at checkpoints,” he said.

Some other persons who spoke with Weekend Trust said it was important to expand the net of those who should not have access to police escorts as at the moment, it appears as though there are no limits. A source noted that there have been instances where Nigerians in Diaspora who are on holiday are seen moving around with policemen just as anyone who can afford to pay for the services.

The new order

President Tinubu, at the security meeting with the police, air force, army chiefs and the director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja, however, has ordered the withdrawal of police officers currently providing security for VIPs in the country, saying henceforth, they would be deployed to concentrate on their core police duties.

In a statement, Bayo Onanuga Special Adviser to the President, (Information and Strategy) disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had ordered the withdrawal of police officers currently providing security for Very Important Persons in the country.

He said, “Henceforth, police authorities will deploy them to concentrate on their core police duties”.

He said the presidential directive was issued at the security meeting President Tinubu held on Sunday with the police, Air Force, army chiefs and the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja.

According to the presidential directive, VIPs who want police protection will now request well-armed personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Also, President Tinubu has approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers.

Investigations by our correspondents have shown that many policemen prefer such postings because it takes them away from the core police duties like patrol, checkpoint monitoring, manning police stations as well as interrogations and investigations.

A reliable source told our correspondents that some of the personnel even lobby to be deployed to the VIPs.

“When new political appointments are made like principal officers of the National Assembly, ministers; state governors, commissioners, you’d see officers lobbying or coming with letters from people in authority, seeking to be deployed as their orderlies among others,” he said.

Weekend Trust learnt that when the police operatives are deployed to serve the VIPs, apart from the stress-free routine of sitting in their residences or carrying arms to move about with them, they benefit from the generosity of their hosts like being included in the feeding schedule in the house, comfortable accommodation, cash gifts and others.

“Some of them are well taken care of that they become members of the family enjoying special privileges unlike when they’re doing normal police work,” the source said.

A police orderly, who did not want his name in print, confirmed that his colleagues go as far as lobbying to get juicy postings to some VIPs.

“Some VIPs don’t pay us a dime while some are cheerful givers. One of my friends, who worked with a civilian VIP, is doing well. So, it depends on the relationship. It is opportunity and luck.

“For me, I was still praying fervently to get that kind of job before the withdrawal order came,” the junior cop explained.

The cop also told our correspondent how a constable, who was promoted to a Corporal and transferred to another location, begged to remain at his ‘duty post’ as an escort to a particular ‘Very Important Personality’

Another police orderly told Weekend Trust that he was paid less than N90,000 as a Corporal, and that the extras he got help him to take care of his family.

“Some VIPs can pay between N50,000 and N110,000, depending on how one behaves. Again, some of us do extra work to get favours from our VIP bosses,” he said.

Timeline of withdrawal orders

Checks by our correspondent showed that this is not the first time the withdrawal of police escorts from VIPs would be announced, but implementation has always been the problem.

In 2003, IGP Mustafa “Tafa” Adebayo Balogun made headlines by ordering the withdrawal of police orderlies from judicial officers and politicians.

He argued that too many officers were being diverted to personal protection duties, undermining effective policing. Then, judges and political leaders pushed back.

Within a month, Balogun partially reversed the order by reinstating the police orderlies to their positions.

A few years later, precisely in August 2009, IGP Ogbonnaya Onovo announced that all police personnel serving as private orderlies should return to their bases.

He explicitly warned that “any policeman or woman who continues in such duty will be dismissed forthwith and delisted,” but the directive did not last.

Within a short time, Onovo partially walked back his own order, allowing some high-profile individuals (including wives of governors and other VIPs) to retain orderlies.

In 2010, when IGP Hafiz Ringim assumed leadership of the force, he renewed the push for reform, warning that officers who refused to return from VIP duties “would be arrested, delisted and prosecuted.”

The then police spokesman, Emmanuel Ojukwu, said a special monitoring unit would be established to enforce the order. Still, the directive collapsed like a pack of cards soon after.

Two years after, specifically in February 2012, the then Acting IGP, Mohammed Abubakar, took a bold step by cancelling all approved police guards for private individuals and corporate bodies.

He framed the move as part of a broader effort to restore “professionalism, integrity and lost glory” to the Nigeria Police Force, but the reform did not last as well.

When late IGP Solomon Arase, came on board and during a public appearance in March 2016, he lamented that Nigeria was “grossly under‑policed.”

He argued that too many officers were posted as personal orderlies, and he ordered: “policemen on postings as orderlies to individuals, including politicians, be withdrawn immediately and redeployed to other more sensitive posts …”

He made this case in the context of bolstering security across communities rather than privileging a few.

In March 2018, IGP Ibrahim Idris issued a sweeping directive asking for: “the withdrawal of all police officers deployed to VIPs, political and public office holders, with immediate effect.”

He said the order would help streamline deployment to improve “effective and efficient policing” of Nigeria.

On October 21, 2020, IGP Mohammed Adamu ordered the withdrawal of all police personnel attached to VIPs.

But he carved out important exemptions: “those attached to Government Houses, the Senate President, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives” were excluded from the order.

Adamu’s move came shortly after the controversial disbanding of SARS, during a highly charged moment of public scrutiny of policing.

In June 2023, Acting IGP Kayode Egbetokun announced that Police Mobile Force (PMF) officers would no longer perform VIP escort and guard duties.

He also said a special committee had been created to implement and enforce the policy, and that Special Protection Unit (SPU) officers would replace PMF in key areas where necessary. In July 2023, the police force later reaffirmed: “the decision … stands firm, and there will be no going back.”

Despite the announcement, there was some clarification: the Force Public Relations Officer Muyiwa Adejobi, later explained that the move applied specifically to PMF personnel — not all police officers assigned to VIPs.

Later that year, in November, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was said to have directed the withdrawal of police escorts from VIPs as part of a broader policing reform.

In April 2025, IGP Egbetokun revisited the issue, saying VIP escort assignments had become “a distraction” for PMF officers, limiting their readiness for emergencies.

Despite these orders, enforcement has been weak, as many known VIPs and even ordinary citizens who can afford to pay, have continued to retain police escorts.

Over the course of more than two decades, repeated IGP directives have tried to scale back police protection duties for VIPs or political figures. But in many cases, implementation has been weak or short-lived.

Meanwhile, controversies have continued to dog the exact number of officers that are in the Nigeria Police Force and those attached with the VIPs, corporate organisations and other persons.

While a report published in November 2025 by the European Union Agency for Asylum, revealed that more than 100,000 officers of the Nigeria Police Force are currently deployed to protect politicians, the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, said only 11,566 personnel were attached to the VIPs.

The European Union report noted that the Nigeria Police Force has an estimated strength of 371,800 officers serving a population of about 236.7 million people.

It stated that the country’s policing deficits are worsened by the diversion of a significant portion of available personnel to VIP protection, rather than community policing and crime prevention.

The report, a copy of which was sighted by our correspondent partly read, “Both recent sources and sources dating back as far as 2007 claimed that the NPF had an estimated strength of 371,800, serving a total population estimated in 2024 at 236,747,130”.

But IGP Egbetokun, in an apparent response to the report, argued that only 11,566 officers were attached to VIPs and that others had been redeployed to the strategic frontline locations in order to protect vulnerable communities across the country.

Lawmakers push back on withdrawal

The category of people visibly affected is members of the National Assembly, some of whom have raised concerns, warning that the move could expose them to grave security risks.

They raised the concerns during a debate at plenary on the escalating insecurity across the country, triggered by a motion moved by Senator Oyelola Yisa Ashiru, on the need for urgent federal intervention.

Contributing to the debate, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (Sokoto North) said the withdrawal of police escorts from top government officials and other VIPs was ill-timed, given the worsening security situation across the country.

He said public office holders remain high-value targets for terrorists, kidnappers and other criminal gangs, making the decision potentially dangerous.

“Our lives are in danger. At a time when criminals are becoming more desperate and attacks are on the rise, withdrawing police protection from senators and other VIPs exposes us to avoidable risks. This policy needs to be reviewed,” Wamakko said.

Similarly, Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), said withdrawing police protection from public officials at a time of heightened criminal activities would put their lives at serious risk.

He said senators and other VIPs have become prime targets for terrorists, kidnappers and armed gangs, making the directive “dangerous and poorly timed.”

“The withdrawal of security from VIPs will expose many of us to unnecessary danger. The security situation is deteriorating. Kidnappers and criminals are becoming more emboldened. Removing police protection now is like opening us up to attacks,” he said.

Other senators echoed similar concerns, arguing that while the police reform directive may have been well-intentioned, it failed to account for the realities of Nigeria’s current security challenges.

On his part, immediate past Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Idris Wase (APC, Plateau), said the implementation must be clearly categorised to avoid endangering individuals “who face real and escalating threats”.

Some lawmakers noted that many senators frequently travel to vulnerable areas within their constituencies and rely on their police security teams for safety, especially during oversight functions, community engagements and political activities.

Following the debate, the Senate resolved to engage the presidency and the police authorities to reconsider or adjust the withdrawal policy in line with current national security realities.

Police Special Protection Unit still active

Despite claims by the police that the implementation of withdrawal of officers with the VIPs has commenced, it was observed that at the Force Headquarters that the unit handling officers and VIPs’ request, still remains active.

Our correspondent, who visited the Force Headquarters on Thursday and Friday, observed that normal activities were going on.

When contacted to find out why the unit was still active, the spokesman of the Force, Benjamin Hundeyin, a Chief Superintendent of Police, said not all internal workings of the Force can be divulged for security reasons.

He said Nigerians would be adequately informed at the right time if the unit (SPU) will be scrapped or strengthened.

Similarly, checks by Weekend Trust showed that the section on the platform where prominent personalities, who have the wherewithal to “rent” police operatives, the Police Specialised Automated Services Programme (POSSAP), apply, still remains active.

Further findings revealed that POSSAP renders services like collection of Police Extract, Fire Arm License, Police Escort, Police Protection Services, CID Clearance Certificate, Tinted-Glass Permit, among other functions.

In a telephone interview with our correspondent, the spokesman of the Police Affairs Ministry, Bolaji Kazeem, explained that both POSSAP office and the website would not be shut down because of the presidential order, saying other services remain intact.

“I don’t think POSSAP will be closed. You know POSSAP has a lot of services they are giving, not only VIPs’ requests. That VIPs’ section has not actually taken off successfully. There are 18 services POSSAP is supposed to render, so, that order can’t affect POSSAP”, he said.

Experts, others weigh in

A retired senior police officer, Joseph Nwadike, advised the government not to withdraw the police personnel attached to VIPs, to avoid endangering their lives. He said insecurity is being politicised to discredit the government as incompetent. He said the police were not generating sufficient revenue through the platform for security services.

“I would say don’t withdraw the VIP’s personnel, instead increase the strength of the police and post them to cover the hot spots. The problem is that the people being recruited in the army and police are not passionate enough for the job, but were those given notes by their contacts and some just want a job. We require boys that are rugged and have suffered to serve in the security services,” he said.

A lawyer, Justice Osai Ahiakwo said the president’s directive withdrawing police personnel from VIP protection duties is legally justified as under Section 215(3), the president may issue lawful directives to the IGP on matters of internal security.

He said, “At a time when terrorists are attacking the territorial integrity of Nigeria, redeploying officers from personal protection to national security operations is not only legal but necessary.

“Indeed, securing the nation is the highest form of VIP protection because once the country collapses, no individual VIP or otherwise is safe.”

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Zanna Mohammed Ibrahim (Rtd), in his contribution cautioned,  saying the directive ordering the withdrawal of police officers from VIPs will fail just like similar directives issued in the past unless Nigeria confronts the deep structural problems that have long weakened the country’s policing system.

The retired DIG said the problem goes far beyond presidential orders, noting that successive Inspector Generals of Police have issued the same instruction over the years but lacked the structural support to enforce it.

He described the VIP escort system as a “cash cow” that generates official and unofficial revenue streams for officers and commanders, making the structure extremely resistant to reform.

Civil rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, described the process of attaching policemen to VIPs as the privatisation of public security.

He said that partly explains why insecurity thrives while the powerful remain insulated.

Retired commissioner of police, Lawrence Alobi, does not agree with the directive. He said the police is the lead agency in internal security and are trained to protect life and property and maintain law and order.

“The question is, why are they taking this from the function of the police, the lead agency, that is primarily under the law, the statutory function, and giving it to Civil Defence? Does it mean that Civil Defence are more competent than the police, or has the police failed? “

A security sector reform expert, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said VIPs are the ones that usually derailed the order because it was a political announcement, adding that lack of institutional discipline collapses the policy.

Nwanguma, who is the Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), noted that there is a need for the police to also address the internal incentives that make VIP protection attractive.

He said, “Withdrawal orders failed in the past because they were political announcements without enforcement. VIPs lobbied their way around them, officers returned quietly to guard duties, and there was no monitoring system to track compliance”.

When contacted, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, Babawale Afolabi, declined to comment on the issue.

However, a senior officer of the Corps, who spoke to Weekend Trust, said there’s no way the NSCDC could take up the responsibility of VIP protection in the country as a result of its numerical disadvantage.

“The police are withdrawing over 100,000 personnel from VIP protection but the whole of the NSCDC including the Commandant General is not up to 100,000.

“Even if we are not required to provide that number, deploying a significant number of our personnel for VIP protection will affect other operations of the Corps, especially the protection of critical national infrastructure.

“The government will have to carry out a massive recruitment drive to jerk up the number of the personnel of the Corps in order to effectively take up the new task,” he said.

Another senior officer who pleaded anonymity as he is not authorised to speak on the issue, hinted that the Commandant General of the Corps, Ahmed Audi, is in discussion with the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on how to execute the president’s directive.

Though, the NSCDC recently created a unit for VIP protection, the number of personnel in the unit is a far cry from what is required to carry out the president’s directive.

When asked if VIP protection was part of the responsibilities of the Corps, the senior officer said the fact that a unit had been created earlier for that purpose showed that the NSCDC’s responsibilities have expanded beyond protection of critical national infrastructure.

“Over the years, we have created the Agro Rangers Unit to protect farmers as well as the Mining Marshal to regulate mining activities,” he said.

Reports by: Joshua Odeyemi, Itodo Daniel Sule, John Chuks Azu (Abuja) & Eugene Agha (Lagos)

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