11,566 Police Personnel Have Been Recalled — IGP Egbetokun
The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on Thursday, said that 11,566 police personnel have been recalled following the presidential directive to withdraw police officers from VIP protection.
Egbetokun, who disclosed this during the strategic officers conference, also said that the redeployment of the affected personnel to underserved communities had since commenced.
He explained that the recent directive by President Bola Tinubu was a strategic and deliberate realignment of our national policing priorities.
According to him, the policy decision is rooted not in sentiment, but in necessity, reflecting the current security demands of Nigeria.
The IGP also said that it reinforces the fundamental purpose for which the Force exists — the protection of our people, the defence of communities, and the safeguarding of public order.
“It is important to emphasise that this action is a patriotic, forward-looking, and operationally prudent measure designed to strengthen our manpower capacity for critical frontline policing functions.
“With the security environment placing increasing pressure on unprotected populations and vulnerable communities, and in this regard, we wish to assure members of the public that this withdrawal will enable the Force to expand deployment into areas where policing input has the most meaningful public safety outcomes.
“These include, but are not limited to, large-scale population protection operations, rural and township security fortification, intensified police visibility and patrol spread, investigative response expansion, and tactical containment of emerging violent threats.
“Simply put, this policy ensures that more officers are repositioned from personalised security duties to collective public protection responsibilities, where their presence and operational impact are most urgently required,” he stated.
