As political campaigns and the 2023 general elections draw near in the face of festering insecurity in most parts of the country, the police have confirmed that there is a surge in the request for protection by politicians.
With campaigns for presidential and National Assembly elections commencing on September 28 and the general elections starting on February 25, the police noted that more applications were being received and more still were being expected, but pointed out that not every application would be granted.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, explained that certain persons were by virtue of their statuses and personalities entitled to police protection, but that despite the spike in the requests, the police would consider each application on its merit and continuously work towards general security for public safety.
There have been public anxieties and apprehension over the rising kidnapping for ransom and killings in different parts of the country, fuelling the demand for special police protection by politicians and the elite. In the ensuing insecurity, many policemen and soldiers, including officers, have been killed by terrorists and other criminals.
Prior to the commencement of their recess, some senators, including some in the ruling All Progressives Congress, gave the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), six weeks to address the insecurity or face impeachment when the National Assembly reconvenes in September.
The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, also urged his colleagues to stay away from the Federal Capital Territory during their holiday because of insecurity, saying, “I want to beg members; Abuja is no longer safe; please, if possible, go back to your constituencies. This place is so insecure.”
These came after notorious Boko Haram terrorists and other criminals were freed during an attack by terrorists on the Kuje Medium Correctional Centre. Gunmen had also attacked some personnel of the Nigerian Army Presidential Guards Brigade, killing some officers in the process.
The Force PRO said it might be difficult to state the number of requests for police protection received so far but that the surge might not be unconnected with the upcoming campaigns and the 2023 elections.
“I don’t have the statistics for now because the requests will continue to come from various angles to the office of the IG, but generally there is an increase because most of the new candidates would want to have police protection. I know there is an increase, especially now that they will commence their campaigns very soon,” Adejobi stated.
‘Approval not automatic’
Asked if every presidential and governorship candidate would be entitled to police protection, Adejobi said, “It is not automatic. It depends on your personality, your status and the threat analysis conducted on you, and if you are prone to any attack. It’s not for every Tom, Dick, and Harry. It is not statutory that every candidate must get police protection.
“There are some individuals who are officially entitled to police protection and this is not negotiable. However, we still have some VIPs, who are to be protected by virtue of their personalities and statuses, which make them vulnerable or prone to attacks. Hence, we are duty-bound to provide security around them.
“Be reminded that this security arrangement is indirectly a sort of general security for them, people around them, and their communities. So, the protection around them doesn’t affect our efficiency and quality service delivery in any way.”
When asked the number of policemen currently on special protection duty, Adejobi said, “No specific number of applications or men detailed to politicians. We have been receiving applications for police escort and guard on a regular basis even before we commenced the electioneering, and we will continue to receive applications, but we will be attending to them on their merit. No automatic approvals for applications or applicants as the case may be.
“We definitely expect to have more applications from politicians since the election activities have commenced, but we tend to intensify our security networking in terms of general security and public safety rather than individual protection. Hence, we are working towards the general security and public safety of Nigeria and Nigerians.”
Deployment unsustainable – Ex-DIG
Meanwhile, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Adedayo Adeoye, has said the country is currently under-policed and there is a need for the government to recruit more policemen. He added that policemen protecting VIPs were too many and that the practice was unsustainable.
He told one of our correspondents in an interview, “The policemen deployed to protect the VIPs are sometimes more than the policemen on the streets. So, what are they doing in VIP houses instead of being on the streets and police stations where they are needed to protect the people?
“Some policemen have spent about five years with private individuals and this is not supposed to be so. The police are meant for the public; private individuals should employ private security personnel and equip them with walkie-talkies that they can use in contacting the police whenever the need arises unlike what we have today where they go about with sirens and policemen, disturbing the public. In my opinion, they are cheating the public who are supposed to be well-protected and policed.”
Also, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Ade Shinaba, said it was unsustainable to keep deploying policemen to politically-exposed persons, adding that the police were already over-stretched with the over 200 million population.
He said in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, “Deploying police officers to politically-exposed individuals is not sustainable for the Nigeria Police. This is because when you check the number of policemen vis-à-vis the population of the country, we are far from the United Nations standard of one policeman to 400 residents.
“What is the population of the police? These men are being killed every day by various terrorist groups and Nigeria is not recruiting every day. How can we have more policemen in big men’s homes rather than being on the streets? This is not how it is in developed countries. Policemen are supposed to be on patrol.
“Their presence alone is a deterrent to would-be criminals. What do we find out? You will see one politician with an array of policemen following him everywhere he goes.”
Shinaba stressed that policemen should be pushed to the streets to do their job and not deployed for a select few.
Speaking on the request for police protection by candidates in the forthcoming elections, the retired AIG said, “Those candidates asking for police protection should go back to their constituencies and do the right thing. Who is the cause of all these problems we are facing in this country? Are they not the ones? Some of them sit in comfort at the National Assembly to make laws that favour them and not the people. Some of their laws even enable this gangsterism.”
He also agreed that private guards, and not the police, should be protecting private individuals, adding,“Private guards should be employed because they are established for the purpose of commercial interests, but they cannot do much.”
A retired Assistant Superintendent of Police, Olufemi Ajisafe, also said instead of policemen, politicians should engage private security personnel for their private security.
“There is no way the police can protect everybody because the Force as it is now is overstretched. How do you think the police will be able to cater to the security needs of everyone? Can the police even secure themselves? This idea of requesting special protection is not sustainable at all. The influential people using police for their personal protection are part of the problems, not ordinary Nigerians,” he stated.
