ADC Blasts Tinubu’s Order Withdrawing Police from VIPs, Calling It ‘Cosmetic’ and Demanding Coherent Security Strategy

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) today, Monday, November 24, 2025, delivered a scathing critique of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent directive to withdraw police personnel from Very Important Persons (VIPs) for immediate redeployment to frontline policing duties. The opposition party dismissed the move as a “cosmetic political gesture” that fails to address the deep-seated structural issues fueling the nation’s escalating security crisis.

In a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC argued that the order issued following a fresh wave of mass abductions is merely “grandstanding” that appeals to public sentiment but lacks the substance of a true security policy reform.

“This dramatic gesture of withdrawing police protection from VIPs may pander to populist sentiment, but it does not address the problem,” Abdullahi stated. “Similar pronouncements have been made twice this year alone by the Inspector-General of Police with no meaningful or lasting result.”

The Problem is Not Just Manpower

The ADC directly challenged the government’s implied claim that numerical strength is the main challenge, noting that redeploying police officers who are “not adequately equipped, trained, or motivated” for counter-insurgency operations would be ineffective against militants who have even challenged the military.

The party also questioned the rationale behind replacing the police escorts with personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), whose primary mandate focuses on disaster management and community protection rather than VIP security.

The ADC concluded by demanding that the Federal Government provide verified data to support the claim of freeing up 100,000 police personnel and present a clear operational plan for their strategic deployment. The party insisted that Nigeria urgently requires a coherent national security strategy built on modernization, intelligence, and institutional synergy, rather than temporary, headline-grabbing measures.