Former Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, has explained why earlier attempts to withdraw police personnel from Very Important Persons failed, saying previous directives were not issued directly by the President.
Baba spoke on Saturday in Abuja at the launch of his biographies titled Giant Footprints and A Policeman Personified. He expressed optimism that President Bola Tinubu’s recent directive would succeed because it carries full presidential authority.
He praised the President for showing political will to restore police primacy in internal security operations by withdrawing officers from private individuals and undeserving VIPs.
“I am profoundly grateful to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his consistent actions directed at restoring the dwindling police primacy in the internal security architecture,” Baba said.
“This was again made manifest by the recent presidential order on the withdrawal of police personnel attached to undeserving personalities. As far as my memory can lead me, this is the first time such an order has emanated directly from a sitting President. We tried to do it as Inspectors General of Police, but we could not make it work. Let us see how this one will go.”
Baba said documenting his policing journey through his biographies would enrich national discourse on security, inspire young officers, and offer useful insights for policy makers and law enforcement professionals.
Earlier, President Tinubu ordered the withdrawal of all police personnel attached to VIPs and directed their redeployment to core policing duties nationwide.
In a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, VIPs requiring protection will now be assigned armed operatives from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to free up police manpower for frontline security operations.
