- By Halimah Olamide
The Nigerian Police Force on Thursday vowed to investigate how a yet to be identified man got many operatives of the force deployed to him as private guards.
In a video which has gone viral, the man was seen being guarded by new fewer than five armed bearing policemen.
The man, in a flowing agbada, was seen being led to place where he appeared like going to slaughter a cow within what appeared like his palatial building.
A twitter user, Oluyemi Fasipe, had shared the video of the man complaining why a single Nigerian should have such a number of policemen attached to him alone.
“This is condemned. We will fish out these men. It’s even disgusting. We have set up a committee to look into the process of withdrawing our PMF/tactical men from such services and use them for the announced Quick Intervention Squad.
“Deployment of policemen to individuals will surely be reviewed and regularised. When the committee submits its report, the Ag. IGP will act as fast as possible to implement the policy. We need more men to police than guard individual Nigerians,” Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Force Public Relation Officer said in response.
The new Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olukayode Egbetokun, had directed that personnel of the Police Mobile Force (PMF) will no longer carry out VIPs escort and guard duties.
This was made known by Egbetokun on Monday, June 26, 2023, while speaking at a conference with police tactical commanders in Abuja.
Egbetokun said the force will conduct an assessment of all the duties of the mobile police to ensure effective utilisation.
https://twitter.com/Princemoye1/status/1674333225714425856?s=20Egbetokun had said, “Specifically, we shall effect the withdrawal of PMF personnel from VIP escort and guard duties.
“While the protection of dignitaries remains paramount, it is imperative that we realign our priorities to address the escalating security challenges faced by the nation as a whole.
“By relieving the PMF of VIP escort and guard duties, we can redirect their focus and efforts toward addressing critical security concerns that affect our communities at large.”