Officers of the Nigeria Police Force who were previously assigned to VIP escort duty throughout the nation are to immediately leave and be redeployed, per an instruction from the Federal Government.
Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, made the announcement on Friday. It marks a strategy change away from protecting private citizens and toward enhancing community policing and public safety.
The Nigeria Police Force has carried out a widespread reassignment of officers formerly assigned to VIP escort responsibilities nationally, further fortifying the security architecture, the minister stated.
The redeployment was intended to address long-standing complaints about the use of police officers for private protection while communities struggle with insecurity, Idris added.
By putting thousands of officers back to work on their core goal of community policing, this most recent massive redeployment aims to address that imbalance,” he said.
He claims that the impacted employees have already been incorporated into front-line security systems in several important states.
Kwara State, Plateau State, Benue State, Kogi State, Nasarawa State, Niger State, and the Federal Capital Territory are among the states where an urgent increase in security forces is anticipated.
The minister also revealed that areas of worship now have more secure surroundings.
In collaboration with local and religious authorities, he continued, “security has also been strengthened around places of worship, including increased visible presence around churches during Sunday services.”
The decision came after at least 75 villagers were massacred in a terrorist attack in Kwara State.
Around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the attackers allegedly attacked the Woro community and the surrounding Nuku region in Kwara North, burning stores, setting a traditional ruler’s home on fire, and forcing locals to hide in the bushes.
According to Idris, President Bola Tinubu’s counterterrorism strategy is still driven locally.
However, when it fits with national interests, the government is open to strategic engagement with foreign partners, especially in the areas of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support, he said.
He reaffirmed the government’s resolve to bring about peace and guarantee that Nigerians can live and worship as they like without fear.
The murders in Kwara, Katsina, and Benue states were denounced by the Northern States Governors’ Forum, which called the crimes “barbaric, senseless, and a direct assault on the collective conscience of the nation.”
The governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, confirmed that the victims had been buried and called the act a “pure massacre.”
President Tinubu has directed the deployment of an army battalion to Kwara State in response to the violence in order to bolster security measures and stop additional assaults.
