Senator Aliyu Wamakko, who represents the Sokoto North Senatorial District, has warned President Bola Tinubu against removing police protection from the nation’s Very Important Personalities (VIPs).
Speaking on the Senate floor during plenary on Wednesday, Senator Wamakko argued that removing the police from protecting VIPs would only put them in danger and make them the next victims of criminals.
According to reports, Wamakko’s remarks were a response to President Tinubu’s recent decision to immediately remove police officers assigned to Very Important Persons throughout the nation in a significant reorganization of security deployment.
The directive was one of the decisions made during the President’s high-level security conference with Service Chiefs in Abuja, according to a statement released on Sunday by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.
According to Onanuga, the action is intended to improve the police’s presence in areas that are experiencing insecurity and return them to their “core duties.”
VIPs looking for armed security escorts must now apply to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) under the new system.
The former governor of Sokoto State, however, contended that the President ought to reevaluate the order because removing police protection from VIPs poses a risk in and of itself.
He declared, “I have to disagree with the idea of removing police from VIPs; that is another danger because the VIPs are going to be the next target.”
Regarding the nation’s overall instability, Wamakko stated that the government should pursue terrorists and outlaws and drive them out of their hiding spots instead of caving in to their demands.
He said that negotiating or paying a ransom would encourage the criminals to carry out their heinous deeds.
