A new European Union report has revealed that over 100,000 Nigerian police officers are assigned to VIP protection, worsening the country’s security gaps.
More than 100,000 officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) are deployed to guard politicians and other Very Important Persons (VIPs), leaving many communities under-policed, according to the European Union Agency for Asylum published in November 2025, The PUNCH reports.
The report noted that Nigeria has about 371,800 police officers serving a population of roughly 236.7 million, but a significant portion of this manpower is diverted to VIP protection rather than community policing and crime prevention.
“The resulting shortage in police personnel was compounded by the fact that more than 100,000 police officers were assigned to the protection of politicians and VIPs, rather than to tasks serving the general population,” the EU report stated.
It added that corruption, inadequate resources, and weak accountability have led to slow crime response times, arbitrary arrests, and extortion by some officers. Efforts to reach Force Public Relations Officer Benjamin Hundeyin for comment were unsuccessful.
Despite directives by the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, in 2023 and 2025 to withdraw mobile officers from VIP duties, the report said the practice persists.
Presidential aide Hadiza Bala-Usman recently urged reforms to end elite protection at the expense of national security, stressing that “whoever feels too important and wants machine gun-wielding personnel protecting him should go and hire a private security company.”