A former Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, has explained why previous efforts to withdraw police officers from VIP protection were unsuccessful.
Speaking in Abuja at the launch of his biographies, Giant Footprints and A Policeman Personified, Baba said earlier directives failed because they came from police chiefs rather than the President.
He expressed optimism that President Bola Tinubu’s recent order would succeed, noting the “political will” behind it.
Baba lauded the President for directing the withdrawal of police personnel from private individuals and undeserving VIPs, saying this move could help restore the police’s primacy in Nigeria’s internal security framework.
Reflecting on his tenure, he admitted that as IGP, similar attempts were made but could not be fully implemented.
He described the President’s intervention as a historic first, signalling a shift in how VIP security is managed.
President Tinubu had earlier ordered that all police officers attached to VIPs be redeployed to core policing duties, with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps now responsible for protecting high-profile individuals.
The move aims to free up police manpower for frontline operations, particularly in underserved communities, and strengthen Nigeria’s overall security response, according to the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
