Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has reassigned police bodyguards from VIPs to core duties and ordered 30,000 new recruits amid a security crisis. The move comes after nearly 400 people, including over 300 schoolchildren, were kidnapped in one of the country’s largest abduction waves in recent days.
Tinubu’s government has faced international scrutiny, with US President Donald Trump threatening military action over reported attacks on Christians by radical Islamist groups. A statement from the presidency said officers currently protecting Very Important Persons would return to general policing to cover poorly patrolled areas across Nigeria.
The recruitment of tens of thousands of additional officers aims to strengthen police presence and respond more effectively to growing security challenges nationwide. A recent European Union Agency for Asylum report found more than 100,000 of Nigeria’s 371,000-strong police force were assigned to VIP protection rather than public service.
The report highlighted that manpower shortages, corruption, and insufficient resources have delayed responses to crime and left many communities without protection.
President Tinubu described the policy shift as a crucial step to restore public confidence and ensure communities feel safer under a reinforced police presence. Authorities have yet to provide detailed timelines for the new recruitment drive, but the announcement signals an urgent attempt to address public fears and rising insecurity.
The president’s actions underscore growing pressure on Nigeria’s leadership to confront escalating kidnappings and violent attacks, which have drawn both domestic and international concern.
