DESPITE President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s sweeping directive ordering the withdrawal of police officers from VIP protection assignments, many mobile police operatives stationed at private companies, banks and corporate facilities across the country have remained fully deployed, News Point Nigeria has confirmed.
The presidential order announced as part of a broad security sector reform mandates the removal of police officers from non-essential VIP duties so they can be redeployed to core policing roles amid rising insecurity nationwide.
On Thursday, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, announced that 11,566 officers had so far been withdrawn from VIP details and reassigned. But observations across multiple states suggest that enforcement of the directive remains partial and inconsistent.
Checks conducted by News Point Nigeria across Kano, Kaduna, Abuja and Lagos revealed that police officers posted to major banks, factories, and corporate premises continue to report for duty as usual.
In Kano, an officer attached to a high-profile bank said they had received no order to pull out.
“We have not been asked to leave, and I don’t think we would be asked to go because most of the people here are foreigners,” the officer told our correspondent on Friday.
A staff member of a telecommunications firm in Jabi, Abuja, echoed the same discovery. “The officers guarding our offices are still there. One of them told me the directive didn’t include those attached to companies,” the employee said.
It remains unclear whether corporate deployments fall under the presidential order, as the police hierarchy has not publicly clarified this grey area.
Efforts to obtain clarification from Force Public Relations Officer Benjamin Hundeyin were unsuccessful, but in a later statement on Friday, he stressed that the directive is not being implemented abruptly.
According to him, the withdrawal of officers from VIP duties is being executed in phases to avoid exposing the country to security risks.
“The implementation of the Presidential Directive has indeed commenced. But it is being carried out in a structured, phased and professional manner to ensure no security vacuum is created,” Hundeyin said.
He also debunked a viral memo allegedly issued by a police officer identified as CSP Suleiman Abdullahi, describing it as fabricated.
“There is no officer by that name in 50 PMF Squadron, and no PMF squadron has an Admin Officer of CSP rank. The document is fake and should be disregarded,” he stated.
As the police gradually pull back from VIP duties, private security companies are positioning themselves to fill the vacuum.
Retired Major General Elvis Njoku, Chairman of the Interim Caretaker Management Committee of the Association of Licensed Private Security Practitioners of Nigeria (ALPSPN), told News Point Nigeria that the private security sector is ready to assume responsibilities traditionally handled by the police.
Njoku confirmed that the association had already met with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to discuss a transition framework.
“The private security industry has come of age. There is no reason we cannot take over some of the roles the police are vacating,”
he said.
“We visited the Commandant-General yesterday, and discussions are ongoing to ensure a seamless transition.”
On whether private guards should now be allowed to carry weapons, Njoku cautioned against such a move.
“Private security guards in Nigeria cannot carry arms, and we have never pushed for it,” he said. “Considering the proliferation of small arms, I don’t think Nigeria is ripe for armed private security. We must first strengthen training and integration with the NSCDC.”
He, however, noted that future reforms may revisit that policy depending on national security needs.