‘Don’t Withdraw Our VIPs, Bandits Will Hit Us,’: Lawmakers Beg Tinubu

• Lawmakers have urged President Bola Tinubu to reverse the withdrawal of police escorts from VIPs, warning that bandits are threatening to abduct members of the National Assembly.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to reconsider his directive withdrawing police operatives attached to Very Important Personalities (VIPs), warning that the decision could expose them to bandit attacks.

Speaking during Wednesday’s debate on national security, former Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris Wase revealed that bandits had issued threats to abduct members of the National Assembly. He argued that pulling police escorts away at such a critical moment would endanger lawmakers and other high-risk public officials.

President Tinubu had on Sunday, November 23, ordered the withdrawal of police officers attached to VIPs during a high-level security meeting in Abuja attended by Service Chiefs and the Director-General of the Department of State Services.

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Under the new directive, VIPs seeking security protection must now request armed personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) instead of police officers. The withdrawal order prompted the Special Protection Unit of the Nigeria Police Force to instruct all officers assigned to VIP duties nationwide to return to their bases.

The Presidency explained that the measure is intended to strengthen policing across communities—particularly in underserved and rural areas—where insecurity remains widespread and police presence is inadequate.

However, lawmakers insist that the sudden change could leave them vulnerable. They urged President Tinubu to reconsider the implementation timeline to prevent exposing public officials to the very threats they are trying to address.