The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has announced the redeployment of 11,566 police officers withdrawn from VIP protection duties to strengthen security operations in rural communities and highways affected by banditry and kidnapping.
Speaking at a senior police commanders’ meeting in Abuja, the IGP described the exercise as a strategic manpower reallocation aimed at addressing urgent security challenges in Nigeria’s most vulnerable areas.
“In line with the President’s directive, we have withdrawn a total of 11,566 personnel from VIP protection,” Egbetokun stated. “The withdrawal is not a retreat from responsibility, but a reclamation of it.”
The police chief explained that the redeployed officers would be deployed to rural roads, township boundaries, motor parks, markets, and community travel routes to enhance patrol operations and establish rapid response mechanisms.
The decision follows recent waves of kidnappings across Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger states, which exposed manpower shortages despite swift security responses.
“We may not be doing enough, but it is not that we are not working. We are actually doing something. But as leaders, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard,” Egbetokun acknowledged.
With the festive season approaching and increased travel activity expected nationwide, the IGP has ordered all state commands to implement enhanced deployment strategies.
“As we approach the festive season, the nation will witness its highest annual travel activity. Citizens returning home to celebrate with family and communities, criminals will seek to exploit the roads,” he warned. “Therefore, the roads must be decisively dominated by proactive policing and preparedness.”
The festive season security plan includes expanded highway patrol units, reinforced presence at motor parks, anti-robbery operations on major routes, drone surveillance, intelligence-driven protection of rural corridors, and community policing initiatives.
Highlighting recent operational successes, the IGP disclosed that police formations have arrested 8,202 suspects in recent weeks. The arrests include 451 armed robbery suspects, 356 kidnapping suspects, 534 murder suspects, 173 for illegal firearm possession, 312 suspected rapists, 282 cultists, and 6,094 others for various serious offences.
Security forces also recovered 249 firearms, nearly 21,000 rounds of ammunition, and 238 vehicles, while rescuing 232 kidnap victims during the same period.
Egbetokun emphasized that intelligence gathering would be intensified operationally rather than merely celebrated ceremonially. He directed all commands to integrate artificial intelligence into policing strategies, including the deployment of drones and other technical resources.
The IGP instructed commands to maintain logs of operational hours and presence metrics as key performance indicators for December deployments, signaling a data-driven approach to measuring security effectiveness during the critical festive period.
