The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has declared that any officer found providing escort or protection services to Very Important Persons (VIPs) will be arrested, describing such assignments as “illegal duty” under the current directive of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun.
Police spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, stated this during an appearance on Channels TV on Tuesday, December 2.
Hundeyin explained that full enforcement of the directive is already in motion, noting that all officers previously assigned to VIPs have been withdrawn.
“The enforcement is ongoing. The IGP issued a directive that any police officer caught escorting VIPs should be arrested because he is certainly on illegal duty. All of them have been recalled,” he said.
He added that the IGP has given clear instructions to senior commanders to ensure total compliance.
According to Hundeyin, the IGP ordered the AIG in charge of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) to deploy personnel to Abuja airport to arrest any officer found escorting VIPs. A similar order was issued to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to monitor the Lagos airport.
“That’s how seriously we take this,” he stressed.
Hundeyin further clarified that President Bola Tinubu’s directive is absolute and not subject to influence or favouritism.
The president’s decision to withdraw police escorts from VIPs aims to redeploy officers to core policing duties amid escalating insecurity across the country.
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