Open Letter To Mr. President: Reassessing Police Deployment to VIPs

Nigeria’s worsening security situation demands smarter policing, not symbolic gestures. This is why reducing rather than completely withdrawing the number of police officers assigned to VIPs is the more sensible path toward strengthening public safety.

The Nigeria Police Force is overstretched. Thousands of officers are tied down in excessive VIP protection duties while communities face rising incidents of kidnapping, banditry, and armed robbery.

A strategic reduction in VIP escorts will free up personnel for patrols, rapid-response operations, and community policing areas where the public feels the absence of the police most sharply.

This proposal is not an argument for stripping VIPs of protection. National leaders, ministers, and prominent citizens remain high-value targets. What is needed is a rational, threat-based deployment that preserves essential protection while ending the practice of assigning large, unnecessary escort teams to individuals. Completely withdrawing police escorts would expose VIPs to avoidable risks and weaken deterrence, especially on highways where convoys often discourage criminal activity by their sheer presence.

In many cases, police personnel traveling with VIPs have prevented attacks in areas where local stations lacked the capacity to respond quickly. A reduced but well-coordinated security detail can continue to provide this deterrence while allowing more officers to contribute to public safety duties.

The Inspector General of Police must therefore focus on recalibration, not elimination. Sensitive institutions such as schools and vulnerable businesses should receive tailored protection based on risk assessment, while elected officials should be encouraged to spend more time in their constituencies with lean but efficient security teams. Their presence at home supports community policing and improves public trust, which is vital for intelligence gathering.

The President’s directive on recruiting additional police officers is timely, but Nigeria must guard the vetting process jealously. Criminal infiltration into the police whether by bandits, terrorists, or their sympathisers remains a serious internal threat. A poorly vetted force cannot secure the country.

Nigeria needs a police service that is professional, intelligence-driven, and optimally deployed. Strategic reduction of VIP escorts is not a political statement; it is a necessary security reform. With the right balance, VIPs will remain protected while more officers return to the core duty of securing the public.

Dr. John Egbo is a retired Deputy Sheriff in the United States and a security consultant. He can be reached at Jnegbo1@gmail.com.