By Punch Editorial Board, Friday May 2, 2025
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, deserves no applause yet. He recently ordered that the Police Mobile Force guarding VIPs be withdrawn immediately. For many Nigerians, his order is the usual motion without movement.
He had given a similar directive on assumption of office in June 2023. At least five past IGs had also asserted that they would remove police officers attached to VIPs. They either reversed themselves or feigned ignorance on the issue afterwards.
Egbetokun was riled by the viral video in which a Chinese national publicly shared a token amount of money with some mobile police officers. The IG summoned the officers involved in the shameful act and reportedly sanctioned them.
Established as the elite strike unit of the Nigeria Police Force, the PMF has strayed from its core responsibilities, including responding rapidly to riots, emergencies, and other violent threats. This has undermined its effectiveness.
Regrettably, the police in Nigeria seem primed for elite protection. A former Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 5, Rasheed Akintunde, said 80 per cent of Nigerian police officers provided personal security to prominent people. The remaining 20 per cent, he added, were engaged in protecting lives and ensuring peace in the country.
The percentage of the VIPs vis-à-vis the total number of officers, compared with the population, shows that Nigeria is grossly under-policed.
The police have less than 400,000 personnel for over 200 million citizens. In August 2020, former Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State said there were only 30 police officers to man 100 villages in Katsina.
This means that Nigeria is unable to meet the UN minimum suggestion of a 1:450 police-to-citizen ratio. Because of this lack of effective policing, the military is bogged down with police duties. Considering Nigeria’s population, over two million police personnel are required nationwide.
Nevertheless, the government and the police are playing to the gallery. There was a plan to recruit 10,000 police personnel per annum. Due to the constant imbroglio between the Police Service Commission and the Police Force, that plan appears stalled.
Nigeria should recruit more police officers and equip them to save the country. Their welfare is also important, as many of their barracks can best be described as pigsties.
Some officers behave as if they are above the law. In Delta, for instance, police recovered a stolen vehicle in November 2015 in Warri and allegedly converted it to their patrol vehicle despite the alarm raised by Matthew Oboro, 62, the owner.
Civil Society Organisations and the media should pressure Egbetokun to implement the withdrawal order. The pressure by politicians and others to retain police escorts should be countered with equal pressure from the citizens.
If the public had not expressed grave concern about the problem, Egbetokun would not have issued the withdrawal order. If implemented, it would improve policing in the country.
In the United States, private security companies protect celebrities.
The elites should employ the services of security companies. This system should be backed up with an operational framework.
They should be licensed to carry certain arms and ammunition. Some of the security companies are run by ex-servicemen who are grounded in their field and have proven character.
By law, the President, the Vice-President, the governors and their deputies, and a few elected and appointed officials are meant to have police details.
Unfortunately, many officials, party officials, businessmen and celebrities demand police protection. This is against the intendment of the law as enshrined in Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution and the Police Act.
Egbetokun must achieve his pronouncement this time. He should justify the exclusive extension of his service by the Presidency by implementing the proposed withdrawal. The current architecture has emboldened criminality. He must deploy ample political will to effect the needed change.