President Bola Tinubu has unveiled sweeping reforms to Nigeria’s security architecture, ordering the withdrawal of around 100,000 police officers from VIP protection duties and redeploying them to frontline policing and counter-insurgency operations.

The directive, issued after a high-level security meeting with Service Chiefs and the DSS Director-General, transfers VIP protection responsibilities to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga confirmed that Tinubu also approved the recruitment of 30,000 new police officers and a nationwide upgrade of training facilities in partnership with state governments. The move addresses long-standing criticism that a large portion of Nigeria’s 371,800-strong police force has been diverted to guard politicians and business elites, leaving communities exposed. A recent EU Agency for Asylum report highlighted Nigeria’s acute policing deficit, worsened by the widespread attachment of officers to VIPs.

The announcement comes amid a surge in mass abductions:

• In Niger State, 50 of the more than 300 pupils and staff abducted from St. Mary Private Schools, Papiri on Friday have escaped, but at least 253 pupils and 12 staff remain missing.
• In Kwara State, all 38 worshippers kidnapped from Christ Apostolic Church, Eruku were freed Sunday after a coordinated operation involving the Army, DSS, NIA, and police tactical units. Tinubu personally oversaw the rescue, cancelling his attendance at the G20 Summit in South Africa.
• In Borno State, suspected Boko Haram militants abducted 12 women returning from farmlands in Askira-Uba LGA on Saturday, and hours later launched an arson attack on Magumeri LGA, burning homes and vehicles but causing no fatalities.
• In Kebbi and Bauchi States, authorities ordered the indefinite closure of schools following rising threats.

The Defence Headquarters has opened an investigation into allegations that troops guarding the Niger school were withdrawn hours before the attack, despite prior intelligence warnings.

International voices have joined the outcry. Pope Leo XIV appealed for the immediate release of abducted students, calling the incidents a source of “immense sadness” and urging that schools remain “places of safety and hope.” Domestically, the APC described the attacks as “organised, choreographed and orchestrated” to spread panic ahead of the 2027 elections, while reaffirming confidence in Tinubu’s response.

Security observers have welcomed the redeployment of police personnel as a critical step toward strengthening community policing and restoring public confidence, framing it as one of the boldest measures taken amid Nigeria’s most intense wave of insecurity in recent years.