Police Officers Pad their Salaries with Cash Gifts from the Wealthy
President Tinubu’s new order to withdraw VIP escorts mirrors two decades of repeated order
By M. Kiara
(Lagos) – President Bola Tinubu’s newest directive ordering police officers withdrawn from Very Important Persons VIPs duty was announced as a major reform. But for Nigerians, it sounds like another recycled promise. Every president since 2005 has issued the same order and almost none were enforced.
Today, Nigeria operates a two-tier security system: the wealthy purchase safety, while ordinary citizens face record kidnappings, delayed responses, and communities with no police presence at all.
A Police Force Hollowed Out from the Inside
On paper, Nigeria has 371,800 police officers for more than 230 million people, far below the United Nations recommendation of 1 officer per 450 people.
But the real number available for public safety is far smaller.
A 2025 report by the European Union Agency for Asylum found over 100,000 officers, nearly one-third of the entire force are assigned to protect politicians, businessmen, entertainers and wealthy families.
These officers serve as:
- Drivers
- Domestic aides
- School-run escorts
- Private convoy guards
“In many communities, police presence is nonexistent,” the EU noted. “Citizens are effectively left without protection.”
Tinubu’s Order: Reform or Another Recycled Directive?
After President Tinubu’s announcement, Inspector-General Kayode Egbetokun claimed only “11,566 officers” were attached to VIPs, a number Nigerians quickly dismissed as fiction.
TruthNigeria monitoring in Lagos and Abuja this week found officers still:
- Escorting VIP families
- Picking up children from elite schools
- Running errands in uniform
“Walk around Abuja at 2 p.m. and you will see police collecting VIP kids,” an Abuja-based journalist told TruthNigeria under anonymity. “Nothing has changed.”
Retired Army Chief Lt. Gen. Lamidi Adeosun told TruthNigeria that order cannot work without structural changes.
“Can police be everywhere? No. Where officers are absent, terrorists fill the vacuum,” he said.
Nigerians: ‘The Police Don’t Even Know Their Numbers’
Public reaction to the Inspector General’s statements was fierce.
One Nigerian, Maria Sanni, told TruthNigeria, “The police headquarters didn’t even know how many officers were protecting VIPs until the new committee started asking.”
Another citizen said, “Some politicians have 30 policemen each. How can the number be only 11,566?”
A 20-Year Cycle of Fake Withdrawals
Nigeria has issued ten identical VIP-withdrawal directives — in 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2023: None lasted.
A former senior police official explained anonymously the reason for this lapse:
“VIP protection is the most lucrative assignment. Some politicians pay unofficial allowances. No officer wants to lose a VIP posting.”
When Policemen Become Criminals
Public trust collapsed further after the 2022 arrest of “super cop” Abba Kyari, accused of drug trafficking and collaborating with internet fraudster Hushpuppi.
Police brutality also continues:
- During the 2020 End SARS protests
- Viral recordings of officers assaulting civilians
- Routine extortion at checkpoints
One case that shook Lagos involved police escorts attached to musician Burna Boy, who opened fire inside a nightclub and injured two civilians.
Another incident saw officers escorting a pastor shoot a tricycle rider who tried to overtake their convoy.
These abuses rarely lead to prosecution.
“We cannot have a professional police force when officers are used as bodyguards, errand boys, and enforcers for the wealthy,” security expert Phil Esan told TruthNigeria.
Northern Governors Say the System Has Already Failed
During a security summit this week, 19 Northern governors said the country’s centralized policing model “can no longer meet security demands.”
They demanded:
- Immediate creation of State Police
- A six-month suspension of mining
- Faster emergency powers for governors respond to attacks without clearance from Abuja
Their warning came hours after 11 villagers were abducted in Shanono County, Kano state, even after residents alerted the police beforehand. Officers reportedly said they “did not act because they had no order from above.”
‘Weapons Are Everywhere’ — Former Army Chief
Lt Gen Adeosun told TruthNigeria that Nigeria once conducted house-to-house searches for illegal weapons.
“For 50 years it has stopped,” he said. “We need annual weapons recovery, or the violence will continue.”
Security expert Royson Onyishi added that withdrawing VIP escorts without retraining them will fail:
“Someone who spent ten years guarding VIPs in Lagos cannot be thrown into combat zones in Zamfara without retraining. It’s not going to be easy for some of them.”
A System Built to Fail
Nigeria’s police chief once admitted the country is short by over 190,000 officers.
But experts say numbers alone won’t fix a system built around elite privilege.
“Recruitment alone cannot fix a system where VIPs can “buy” officers and public policing is nobody’s priority,” analyst Phil Esan told TruthNigeria.
Christian Communities Bear the Worst Consequences
As Nigeria faces rising militia attacks, Christian farming villages in Plateau, Kaduna, Benue, and Niger are often overwhelmed without police presence.
In Kaduna, survivor Betty Alma told TruthNigeria, “We called police for hours while gunmen attacked us. No one came. Meanwhile, in Abuja, one politician has 30 officers.”
Former Human Rights Commission chair Chidi Odinkalu asked, “Kaduna is one of the most heavily garrisoned states in Nigeria. How are entire communities being wiped out under such a security presence?”
Nigerians Summarize the Crisis Simply
One Abuja resident put it plainly:
“Until VIPs lose their police helpers, Nigeria will keep policing 200 million people with half a force.”
M. Kiara reports for TruthNigeria from Lagos.
