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• directs civil defence deployment as replacement
• orders forest guards armed
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has insisted on his earlier directive on the withdrawal of Police officers currently providing security for Very Important Persons (VIPs) in the country, further directing the Minister of Interior to deploy officers of the Civil Defence to replace the withdrawn officers from special duties.
He had ordered the withdrawal of police officers from VIP security duties on November 23, 2025, during a security meeting in Abuja with service chiefs and the DSS director-general. The directive aims to redeploy an estimated 100,000 officers to core policing tasks amid escalating threats like mass abductions, terrorism, and insurgency.
Speaking before the commencement of Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at 1:15 PM, President Tinubu issued a firm directive to Nigeria’s top security agencies to review and strengthen policing arrangements, emphasising the critical need to protect citizens amid rising kidnapping and terrorism threats.
Addressing members of FEC, Tinubu stated: “I told the Inspector General of Police (IGP)—and I hope the Minister of Police Affairs, Minister of Police Affairs (Ibrahim Gaidam), is here—that if there is any problem of security because of the nature of your assignment, please contact the IGP and get my clearance.” However, it was noted that the Minister of Police Affairs, and the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, were not present when the meeting began.
The President further instructed that the Minister of Interior should coordinate closely with the IGP and the Civil Defence structure to replace police officers currently deployed on special security duties, to avoid leaving communities exposed. “The National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Department of State Services (DSS) should provide further information, form a committee, and review the security structure immediately.
This must be effected,” Tinubu stressed.
Highlighting the urgency, he acknowledged the exceptional security needs of vulnerable citizens (politically exposed persons) and urged that the civil defence and forest guards be adequately armed. “Take this very seriously,” the President emphasised, underscoring his commitment to strengthening all available security forces.
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He said: “I told the IGP and I hope the minister of police affairs is here, if you have any problem of security because of the nature of assignment, please contact the IGP and get my clearance. “The minister of interior should liase IGP and Civil Defence structure to replace those police officers, who are on special security duties. So that you don’t leave people exposed.
“NSA and DSS to provide further information and form themselves the committee and review the structure.
“It should be effected. We face challenges of Kidnapping and terrorism, we need all the forces that we can utilise.
“I know some of our people are exposed and I understand that we have to make exceptional provision for them and civil defence are equally armed and I want to know that from NSA to arm our forest guards too, take it very seriously.”
The directive comes after Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka recently condemned what he described as the “excessive” security escort attached to President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi Tinubu, linking it to Nigeria’s wider failures in security prioritisation.
Soyinka had said he personally observed a very large, heavily armed convoy protecting Seyi Tinubu in Lagos, describing the deployment as big enough to “take over a small country” or quell an insurrection in a neighbouring state.
On another front, President Tinubu turned attention to the contentious issue of livestock reform and grazing conflicts. He tasked Vice President Kashim Shettima to first secure National Economic Council (NEC) consensus on rehabilitating grazing reserves into viable ranches and livestock settlements. The aim is to eliminate violent conflicts and transform the reform into a driver of economic development, leveraging constitutional provisions that vest land ownership with states.
“Again specially livestock reform, I think the Vice President should get the NEC first of all to see which village or grazing reserves that can be salvaged or rehabilitated into Ranches, Livestock settlement.
“We must eliminate the possibility of conflicts and turn the Livestock reform into economically viable development. The opportunity is there let’s utilise it.
“And it is in NEC, if we exercise the constitutional requirement which states that the land belong to the states, which ever one they can salvage convert to Livestock village let us stop this conflict area and turn it to economic opportunities and prosperity.”
