Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun says more than 11,000 officers assigned to protect Very Important Persons (VIPs) have been withdrawn and redeployed to strengthen frontline policing across the country.
Egbetokun announced the development on Thursday during a meeting with senior police commanders in Abuja, where he explained that the directive—issued earlier by President Bola Tinubu—was a strategic move to bolster public safety, especially in vulnerable communities.
According to the police chief, the withdrawal was informed by operational realities, not sentiment, and reflects the force’s renewed focus on its primary responsibility to citizens and communities.
“In line with the President’s directive, we have withdrawn a total of 11,566 personnel from VIP protection. These officers are being redeployed to critical policing duties immediately,” he said.
He said the redeployed personnel would boost manpower for rural and urban security operations, enhance patrol visibility, support intelligence-led policing, and improve rapid response to emerging threats.
Egbetokun added that the withdrawal exercise would be handled with caution to prevent impersonation, misinformation, or exploitation by criminal elements, noting that detailed operational guidelines would be issued soon.
“The withdrawal is not a retreat from responsibility, but a reclamation of it,” he said.
The IGP referenced recent security incidents—including abductions in Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger states—as reminders of the need to reposition the force for increased deterrence and public confidence. While commending officers for swift responses to the attacks, he acknowledged criticisms about the police’s effectiveness.
“We may not be doing enough, but it is not that we are not working. We are actually doing something. But as leaders, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard,” he said.
Egbetokun highlighted recent operational gains, disclosing that 8,202 suspects had been arrested for various offences in the last few weeks, while 232 kidnapped victims were rescued.
He provided a breakdown of the arrests, including 451 armed robbery suspects, 356 kidnapping suspects, 534 murder suspects, 129 culpable homicide suspects, 173 suspects for unlawful possession of firearms, 312 rape suspects, and 282 suspected cultists. An additional 6,094 individuals were arrested for other serious crimes.
Recovered items included 249 firearms, nearly 21,000 rounds of ammunition, and 238 vehicles.
The police, he said, are now leaning more heavily on intelligence-driven operations, expanded community engagement, and improved inter-agency collaboration.
With the festive season approaching—which typically marks the highest travel volume in the year—Egbetokun directed all state commands to commence enhanced patrols, highway domination operations, and community-focused policing initiatives. He also encouraged the use of technology, including drones and AI-enabled surveillance tools.
“Citizens returning home to celebrate with family and communities will be on the roads, and criminals will seek opportunities to exploit them. The roads must be decisively dominated by proactive policing and preparedness,” he said.
He ordered the activation of comprehensive festive deployment plans, including reinforced highway patrols, foot patrols at motor parks, intelligence-backed vehicular patrols of rural corridors, anti-robbery dragnets, and joint operations with other security agencies.
