A report indicates that the former Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, was removed from office for failing to comply with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to withdraw police officers from Very Important Personalities protection duties.
According to Punch, the former IG was also compelled to resign over his alleged opposition to state policing and his alleged vindictive conduct towards colleagues.
Multiple highly placed officials in the Presidency and the police establishment told the publication that Egbetokun begged Tinubu to allow him stay till 2027, but the President refused.
Although Egbetokun officially cited “family issues” in his resignation letter submitted on Tuesday, insiders revealed that the former police chief was summoned to the Presidential Villa and told to step down.
“That Monday evening, he (the President) called him to tell him that he has to go,” one of the sources said.
Another insider explained that the former IG pleaded for more time, asking to be allowed to complete his four-year tenure, which was expected to run until October 2027 under a 2024 amendment to the Police Act granting IGs a fixed term regardless of age or years of service.
“The former IG was supposed to go in 2027. He begged that he be allowed to complete his term. The President said no, he had to go,” the source said.
According to the publication, the President’s decision was driven by three grievances that had accumulated over several months.
The most immediate trigger, Presidency sources said, was Egbetokun’s handling of the November 23, 2025, presidential directive ordering the withdrawal of over 11,000 police officers from VIP protection duties for them to be redeployed to communities plagued by kidnapping, banditry and terrorism.
An official in the Presidency also told Punch that Egbetokun did not merely drag his feet but pushed back directly against the President during a meeting with security chiefs, arguing that business leaders and senior corporate executives needed police protection.
“One of the issues is the withdrawal of police from VIPs. He didn’t execute it as quickly as the President wanted. He did it halfheartedly. He actually argued against it with the President during the security meeting, saying that the economic actors, the business people, need to be protected,” he said.
The source added that the President rejected the argument, pointing to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps as an adequate replacement.
“The President said yes, they need to be protected. But the police don’t have to protect them. Civil Defence can protect them. In fact, he said, ‘the Civil Defence is even more lethal in handling of arms. So, what are you talking about? What is the difference between Civil Defence and the police? They are both carrying arms. So why are you fixated on having police to do that?’
“We are not saying they won’t be protected because they are the bloodstream of the economy. We don’t want our business people to die the kind of death they shouldn’t die. But Civil Defence are trained. They’re even more lethal than police. In any case, the business people also have the resources to hire their own security,” the source added.
He also asked the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Department of State Services to issue further guidance and ensure the directive is effected.
Another insider knowledgeable about the incident revealed that the initial resistance had a financial dimension.
According to the source, the VIP deployment scheme generated over ₦300bn annually for the police through a system in which businesses and individuals pay a fee for each officer deployed to them.
“The truth of the matter is, from what we know, what goes into police from money that these people pay for protection is over ₦300bn annually.
“They collect ₦100,000 per month from one officer. So, they will give the officer maybe ₦50,000. So, the rest goes through the chain. It trickles down.
“The President’s order was very disruptive. So, the police establishment was not happy because he removed a big income source from them. They resisted it. Some of them started wearing mufti. So, it means that they found a way to compromise it and the President got to learn about it,” the source said.
0 Comments