Egbetokun Redeploys 11,566 Police Officers

The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on Thursday clarified that the recent presidential directive pulling police personnel from VIP security attachments is a deliberate manpower reset to reinforce community protection and frontline policing.

He spoke to journalists in Abuja during a high-level meeting with senior commanders of the Nigeria Police Force, explaining that the manpower recall was backed by public safety priorities, not politics or emotion.

A total of 11,566 officers withdrawn from VIP security deployments have now been reassigned to immediate policing operations, a scale the IGP said signals a return to the force’s core responsibility of protecting communities and maintaining public order.

“In line with the President’s directive, we have withdrawn a total of 11,566 personnel from VIP protection. These officers are being redeployed to critical policing duties immediately,” Egbetokun confirmed.

He added emphatically, “The withdrawal is not a retreat from responsibility, but a reclamation of it.”

Egbetokun explained that the restructuring would boost policing visibility in high-risk rural and township environments, improve intelligence reach, and restore confidence among vulnerable populations.

“These officers are being redeployed to critical policing duties immediately,” he reiterated, stressing that “the urgent need to channel manpower to areas where public safety demands are highest” remains the sole driver of the move.

He said the realignment aligns with the statutory mandate of the force, anchored on citizen and community protection.

The police chief warned that the transition will be tightly managed to block misinformation, criminal impersonation, or exploitation by syndicates.

“The withdrawal is not a retreat from responsibility, but a reclamation of it,” he said again, disclosing that detailed operational guidelines would be released soon.

Egbetokun acknowledged that recent abductions across Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger states intensified the urgency for restructuring police visibility, particularly in rural and peri-urban corridors.

He admitted the security incidents had created a perception in some quarters that the police were not doing enough, despite ongoing operational responses.

“We may not be doing enough, but it is not that we are not working. We are actually doing something. But as leaders, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard,” he said, conceding that leadership must own accountability.

“We may not be doing enough, but it is not that we are not working,” he repeated for emphasis, adding, “as leaders, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard.”

The IGP disclosed notable operational outcomes recorded by the Nigeria Police Force in recent weeks.

According to him, security operatives across tactical formations arrested 451 armed robbery suspects, 356 suspected kidnappers, 534 persons over murder cases, 129 suspects linked to culpable homicide, 173 persons for unlawful possession of firearms, 312 suspected rapists, 282 suspected cultists, and 6,094 others held over various serious criminal offences.

He said cumulative arrests reached 8,202 suspects, while 232 kidnapping victims were rescued and reunited with safety.

Egbetokun listed recoveries recorded alongside the arrests, noting that the police retrieved 249 firearms, nearly 21,000 rounds of ammunition, and 238 vehicles linked to criminal activity or investigations.

The force, he said, is strengthening its intelligence frameworks and expanding inter-agency collaboration to sustain tactical advantage over criminal networks.

With the festive season approaching, Egbetokun ordered enhanced deployments across state commands to secure population influx, Christmas travel corridors, and rural-community mobility.

He warned that criminal elements may attempt to exploit the annual high-volume travel season.

“As we approach the festive season, the nation will witness its highest annual travel activity… criminals will seek to exploit the roads,” he cautioned.

He directed all state commands to expand motor park foot patrol units, reinforce township entry and exit point security, and activate proactive highway visibility operations supported by drones and artificial intelligence assets.

Addressing performance expectations for December deployments, the IGP said commands must track operational hours and visibility presence metrics to ensure compliance and measure policing dominance during the peak travel season.

“The roads must be decisively dominated by proactive policing and preparedness,” the IGP instructed.

“I hereby charge each state command to activate festive deployment and operational plans,” he said.

He added clearly, “Employ the use of artificial intelligence in policing strategies, including drones and other technical assets.”

President Bola Tinubu originally issued the directive on Sunday following a security meeting in Abuja with the nation’s service chiefs and the Director-General of the Department of State Services.

The directive ordered the withdrawal of police officers from VIP protection to be reassigned to core policing operations, strengthening frontline security, community safety, and route protection.