Tinubu’s VIP Police Withdrawal Mere Grandstanding – ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s directive ordering the withdrawal of police officers from VIP security duties, describing the move as political grandstanding that will have no meaningful impact on Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.

In a statement on Monday signed by its spokesperson, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the decision shows that government still does not understand the complexity of the country’s security challenges.

“Resorting to this same old move confirms government’s lack of appreciation of the complexity of the security situation in the country and what needs to be done,” the ADC said.

Abdullahi noted that the announcement was not new, recalling that similar directives had been issued repeatedly in the past.

“In 2025 alone, such order has been given twice by the IGP, whom we believe was acting on the directive of the President. But nothing happened,” he stated.

The party argued that Nigeria, which is battling terrorism, banditry, mass abductions and violent crime, cannot afford to confuse public relations with serious policy measures.

According to the ADC, withdrawing police officers from VIPs fails to address the core problem, the structural weaknesses of the security agencies themselves.

“Even if the President succeeds in relieving the police of VIP duties, we must face the bigger concern that by their training, mentality and orientation, these policemen are ill-suited and ill-equipped for the desperate emergency that we face.”

The statement added that the gesture may appeal to public sentiment but does not solve the underlying crisis.

Reacting to government’s claim that 100,000 personnel would be redeployed from VIP duty, the ADC said the issue is not numerical strength but the capability of officers to handle sophisticated threats.

“The real problem is not the number. Even our military are finding it difficult to cope with the sophistication and adaptability of the insurgents, not to talk of policemen who are ill equipped, ill trained and ill motivated.”

The party also challenged the Presidency and the police to provide verifiable data to support the 100,000-personnel claim.

“Where is the data supporting the claim that 100,000 officers have been withdrawn from VIP duties?” it asked.

The party further questioned the decision to replace police officers protecting VIPs with personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

“We find it even more intriguing that while withdrawing policemen from the VIPs, the government is replacing them with the NSCDC, whose mandate includes disaster risk reduction, community protection and educating people on safety. How does this improve national security?”

The ADC stressed that Nigeria’s security crisis requires a comprehensive national strategy that integrates all security agencies into a coordinated counter-insurgency structure.

“Nigeria’s security challenges must be addressed comprehensively, not cosmetically. What the country needs is not the reshuffling of personnel for headlines, but a coherent national security strategy anchored in modernisation, intelligence and institutional integration.”

The party urged the Federal Government to focus on restructuring, re-equipping and retraining security agencies to confront modern threats.

“This work is urgent, and half measures will not suffice,” it added.