Nigeria’s government has announced plans to end the widespread use of police escorts by wealthy and politically connected individuals, saying the practice diverts security forces from their primary duties and undermines public safety.
Hadiza Bala-Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination and Head of the Central Delivery Coordination Unit (CDCU), said on Thursday that police and elite security units trained to fight terrorism were being deployed to protect VIPs instead of tackling insecurity.
“One of the most disturbing things for me is when VIPs arrive somewhere with so many policemen trailing them, while the areas that actually need security are left unattended,” she told participants at the Ministry of Interior’s performance retreat in Abuja.
“We cannot continue to deploy police trained for anti-terrorism operations just to guard individuals in Ikoyi. That is wrong completely,” she added.
Bala-Usman said the government was moving to amend the Private Guard Companies Act to allow licensed private security firms to take over VIP escort duties.
“We must free our policemen to do national security as required. Whoever feels too important and wants machine gun-wielding personnel protecting him should go and hire a private security company with the necessary documentation, not take our mobile policemen,” she said.
She cited personal observations of elite officers being misused. “I saw elite police units stationed daily near my house in Ikoyi being used for VIP protection. I immediately reported it to the National Security Adviser. These personnel should be in the field combating terrorism, not guarding individuals,” she said.
The reform has been listed as a key deliverable under the CDCU framework, with the Ministry of Interior directed to fast-track amendments before the third quarter of 2025, she said.
Bala-Usman warned that the misuse of security operatives not only endangered public safety but also weakened the morale of overstretched officers. To reduce the burden, she suggested retired senior police officers could be integrated into structured private security outfits.
“We have so many retired AIGs, DIGs and CPs who can be mopped up into a well-regulated private security system. That way, we reduce the pressure on our overstretched security agencies and still provide the support that is needed,” she said.
She stressed that VIP protection should not be seen as a national entitlement. “VIP protection is not a public entitlement. It is a service that should be paid for. Our policemen must be freed to protect Nigerians at large, not just a privileged few,” she said.
Bala-Usman said the reforms would enhance security nationwide and compel elites to fund their own protection instead of burdening the state.