‘It’s cosmetic’ — ADC faults Tinubu’s order on withdrawal of police officers guarding VIPs

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described President Bola Tinubu’s order to withdraw police officers from very important personalities (VIPs) as a political gesture that does not address Nigeria’s escalating security crisis.

On Sunday, the president ordered the immediate withdrawal of police officers attached to VIPs across the country.

A statement by Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, said Tinubu ordered that the personnel be redeployed to core policing duties in communities.

However, in a statement on Monday, Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the ADC, said the move amounted to “grandstanding” and reflected a poor understanding of the nation’s security challenges.

Abdullahi said the decision was not new, noting that similar announcements had been made twice in 2025 by the inspector-general of police (IGP).

He said the latest order “makes for good headlines” but failed to confront the complexity of terrorism, banditry, mass abductions, and violent crime across the country.

“This dramatic gesture of withdrawing police protection from VIPs may pander to populist sentiment, but it does not address the problem,” he said.

Abdullahi argued that the government’s claim that the directive would free up 100,000 officers for policing duties was misleading, insisting that the challenge was not numerical strength.

He said even the military struggles against insurgents, adding that the police are not adequately equipped, trained or motivated for counter-insurgency operations.

The ADC spokesperson questioned the rationale for replacing police officers with personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), whose mandate centres on disaster management, community protection and safety education.

He said Nigeria needs a coherent national security strategy built on modernisation, intelligence and synergy across security institutions, rather than “cosmetic” measures.

Abdullahi asked the federal government to provide data supporting its claim of withdrawing 100,000 policemen guarding VIPs and to present a clear operational plan for their deployment.

He said redeploying officers without a strategic framework was “meaningless”.

“The Tinubu government must move beyond pronouncements and press briefings and begin the holistic overhaul of Nigeria’s national security architecture,” he said.