Linus Aleke in Abuja

The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has announced the recall of more than 11,000 officers previously assigned to provide security for Very Important Persons (VIPs), as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen general policing across the country.

The move follows a presidential directive instructing the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force to immediately withdraw officers attached to VIPs nationwide.

Speaking at a meeting with the Force Management Team, Commissioners of Police and other strategic leaders, Egbetokun explained that the withdrawal process would be both systematic and strategic.

He emphasised that, while fully complying with the President’s directive, it remained essential to ensure that key economic actors were not left vulnerable to security threats.

The IGP further directed Commissioners of Police to develop innovative and localised policing strategies within their respective commands in order to outmanoeuvre criminal elements across the country.

Addressing reports circulating on social media, he dismissed claims that more than 120,000 officers were attached to private individuals as false.

“These claims are lies,” he said. “How many police officers do we even have in Nigeria? The presidential directive revealed that 11,566 officers are currently engaged in such duties.”

He noted that although similar orders had been issued in the past, the President’s backing would guarantee full compliance this time. “No governor, no friend, no family member will pressure me again. It is a presidential directive,” he insisted.

Egbetokun explained that the redeployed personnel would significantly boost operational capacity at a time when the force is grappling with manpower shortages.

“With more than 11,000 officers returning to frontline duties,” he said.

Policing efficiency, he said would improve considerably, adding that welfare would remain a priority—particularly for those posted to rural and high-risk locations.

The IGP said the new directive is designed to expand capacity, increase visibility and improve the force’s ability to respond to emerging threats.

Officers, he added, would be strategically deployed to critical areas where their presence is most needed.

The Force also cautioned against misinformation and attempts to politicise the directive, stressing that guidelines and safeguards would be communicated through official channels.

Reviewing recent operational achievements, Egbetokun said police commands had recorded notable breakthroughs since the last briefing, including the arrest of 822 suspects for offences ranging from robbery and kidnapping to homicide.

Within the same period, the police recovered 249 firearms, 20,989 rounds of ammunition and 38 vehicles, while rescuing 232 kidnapped victims.

“I hereby charge each State Command to activate Festive Deployment and Visibility Plans. These should 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 to ensure safety across national highways, border routes, township entry and exit points, market routes and community travel corridors.

Employ the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in your policing strategies, including drones and other technical assets. Every Command must log visibility hours and ground presence stretches as performance metrics for December deployment returns. Let this festive period be defined by public safety, policing dominance, citizen confidence and crime suppression — not fear,” he said.

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