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

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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.