Filling the security vacuum

Sequel to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s order to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, to withdraw policemen protecting certain categories of Very Important Persons (VIPs), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has requested presidential approval to recruit about 30,000 additional personnel, to enable it cope with the surge in the demand for its personnel, as the sole security outfit to fill the vacuum created by the withdrawal of the policemen.

According to The Punch, the request was the follow-up to the meeting that President Tinubu held with the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and the Commandant-General (CG) of the NSCDC, Ahmed Audi, last month.

The 30,000 personnel is separate from the ongoing 30,000 personnel recruitment currently being carried out across the paramilitary services.

President Tinubu last November said the withdrawn policemen should be deployed to concentrate on their core police duties. The presidential directive came days after a series of attacks that saw the kidnap of at least 300 people, mostly schoolchildren, across Kebbi, Kwara and Niger states.

“Henceforth, police authorities will deploy them (policemen) to concentrate on their core police duties,” a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, read. According to Onanuga, “VIPs who want police protection will now request well-armed personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.”

The President subsequently approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers even as the Federal Government is collaborating with the states to upgrade police training facilities nationwide.

One such protest came from the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who spoke on behalf of his fretting colleagues. Akpabio told the President during the 2026 Budget presentation last month that “Some members of the National Assembly say I should let you know that they may not be able to go home today. We plead with the President to review the decision.”

It is commendable that President Tinubu stuck to his guns. This is especially so against the backdrop of what led to his order to withdraw the policemen in the first place, and the skepticism in some quarters that the order was a mere political statement that would never be implemented, and even if it was, it was not the answer to the country’s security challenge.