President Bola Tinubu has ordered the withdrawal of police officers assigned to Very Important People across the country, with the directive that they be redeployed to core policing tasks.
The decision was delivered during the president’s Sunday security meeting in Abuja with service chiefs and the director-general of the Department of State Services.
According to a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, VIPs who require protection would now be allocated armed operatives from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps rather than the police.
“Many parts of Nigeria, especially remote areas, have few policemen at the stations, thus making the task of protecting and defending the people difficult.
“In view of the current security challenges facing the country, President Tinubu is desirous of boosting police presence in all communities,” the statement read.
Onanuga also revealed that the president has approved the recruitment of 30,000 extra police officers and that the federal government is collaborating with states to improve police training facilities around the country.
The meeting on Sunday was attended by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; and the Director-General of the DSS, Tosin Adeola Ajayi.
The withdrawal of police escorts from VIPs comes despite long-standing worries about Nigeria’s police force being overstretched.
According to some accounts, over 100,000 police officers are assigned to politicians, businessmen, and other VIPs.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
