Security-for-hire: Emerging trend in police protection of VIPs

Amid the security concerns nationwide, officers of the Nigerian police are fast shifting attention from general to selective protection of high-profile individuals and Very Important Persons (VIPs) that can afford a fee, BERTRAM NWANNEKANMA reports.

With concerns over the safety of lives and properties unabating nationwide, the escort business is fast assuming a new dimension, with men of the Nigerian Police Force becoming active players.

As evident during the peak of the festive season, these officers routinely escort trucks and lorries laden with goods and accompany high-profile individuals, Very Important Persons (VIPs) and everyone who can afford a fee.

These security ‘attaché’ are regulars in traffic, the marketplace, and all public functions, sometimes creating logistics nightmares and nuisances at functions of multiple VIPs.

Another common trend is to find them among the Nigerians Diaspora visiting their hometowns and cities in Nigeria.

Some netizens lamented that the situation was annoying last December when everybody from abroad was accompanied by two Hilux vehicles with escorts to protect them from Nigerian Police and other agencies that mount highway checkpoints!

According to Danny @ajeboDanny, “The number of convoy escorts on Lagos Island was crazy !! Like every turn on the island is waan waan waan waaan waan you go just dey hear.”

Another netizen said he recently spent about N900,000 hiring a police escort during his trips to and fro Owerri from Port Harcourt.

“I didn’t do that because of robbers or kidnappers, but to pay police to protect me from the police on the road.

“Nigeria is where you hire a police escort to prevent you from harassment by the police. You will think N900,000 is a lot. Till the first one stops you, weighs you properly and radio others in front, and you end up putting your family and friends in financial danger,” he added.

Another one said that police escorts are not responsible for the provision of Hilux, as there are agents who are responsible for that.

These agents, he said, also have links with the police escorts and can secure the deals, especially for Diasporan Nigerians returning home for the Yuletide.

While the ‘business’ goes one, other Nigerians in need of protection rarely get it despite the Federal Government spending at least N131 billion yearly on salaries for these police officers designated as escorts.

The Guardian investigation revealed that these escorts are mainly drawn from the ranks of Corporals, Sergeants and Inspectors.

The Police Service Commission, in a most recently published report, stated that more than 150,000 police officers were attached to VIPs and unauthorised persons in the country, out of the 400,000 police officers presently in service. However, insiders said there could be more, considering the increasing cases of insecurity in the country.

Subsidising security services for the politically exposed minority leaves the vast populace unprotected and constitutes an unfair utilisation of taxes paid by many Nigerians.

A senior officer affirmed that in some cases, Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs) and even Deputy Superintendents of Police are seconded as heads of escorts for politically exposed persons, like high-ranking senators and governors.

According to the officer, the practice is rare but is considered and cherished by officers involved because of its allure.

With policing seemingly outsourced and at the instance of the highest bidders, there are concerns about the government performing its constitutional function of protecting lives and properties.

According to the United Nations’ recommended ratio, one police officer should be assigned to every 450 people for effective policing. Nigeria, with a population estimated at 206,139,589, would thus require an average of 2.5 million officers nationwide.

This shortfall is not farfetched as the Nigeria Police Force is understaffed and inadequately funded.

However, in the face of this glaring dearth, the Nigeria Police personnel are shared among the VVIP (politicians), VIP, the middle class and the moneybags, leaving a negligible proportion for the poor populace.

But this service is rarely free of charge. A top police source said proceeds from this transaction sometimes go directly to top officers in the Force. The Guardian further learnt that in some instances, both the Squadron Commanders of PMF and O/Cs of SPU prosecute this deal without the knowledge of their respective Commissioners of Police (CPs).

The patrons pay heavily for this. Depending on the number of personnel assigned to these people, each pays as much as between N3 million and N5 million, depending on the duration of service.
A security operative, who pleaded anonymity, said, unfortunately, some of these patrons may have skeletons in their cupboards. Still, they sail through all checkpoints to their destinations because of the armed personnel attached to them on escort duty.

Speaking on the issue, a retired Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Dr Solomon Arase, said assigning police personnel to politicians and VIPs was not originally in the Nigeria Police Force Act.

He noted that patrons manoeuvre their way through the leadership of the Police to get escorts.

According to him, it is an aberration to assign a large chunk of Police personnel to individuals and the so-called VIPs.

“Originally, there was nothing like assigning Police personnel to these people, but you know, they have a way of manoeuvring their way to get it.

“Look at the National Assembly, for instance; over 109 Police personnel are detailed there; by the time you add those attached to individual politicians and their wards, you will realise that security in this country is for the elites at the expense of the common man.

“Unfortunately, this is even as we cry that the police are understaffed. Don’t forget that releasing these personnel to the politicians and VIPs is not free. So, the beat goes on,” he added.

Responding, the Director-General of the Nigeria Institute of Industrial Security, Dr Wilson Esangbedo, downplayed the IGP’s position, even as he lamented that one-third of the police are unavailable due to escort jobs.

He noted that the first thing every IGP does upon assuming office is to withdraw police escorts from VIPs, but once they are under pressure from politicians, they release them back to the VIPs.   He stressed that this has been a disturbing trend in the country and has increased insecurity.

Esangbedo said the best line of defence for any country is private, community-based or internal security mechanisms.

“When you go to other countries like Rwanda, South Africa, or even the United States, their internal security department carries out these tasks. They provide security for cash on transit; their regular police are not involved.

“They provide security for shops, stores and businesses and are even licensed to carry arms like pistols and shotguns. When that happens, it creates room for the police and the military to do their core duties.

“We have OPMESA and others who should be involved in internal security. The Army is not supposed to be involved in internal security. The Army is well trained to fight, kill and defend the country against any form of insurgency and terrorism and not work for a selected few VIPs,” he said.

Esangbedo said Nigeria needs to return to its drawing board and seriously improve its security architecture. “We also need to allow these internal security organisations to do their jobs without interference and disturbance and also let them be the people to work with VIPs,” he said.

Also, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and human rights lawyer, Dr Monday Ubani, lamented a system that allows VIPs to have police officers guard them. At the same time, over 98 per cent of Nigerians are unguarded.

“Why must such a system exist in the first place? Why can’t there be adequate security for everyone, everywhere, to guarantee safety for every citizen? Do these VIPs have such protection whenever they travel to developed countries? We have always seen them on trains and buses without special police protection. So, why such a system in their home country if not because there is a failure in the security system?” he queried.

Ubani advised the federal government to protect every life and property and end the “nonsense” of assigning police officers to VIPs.

“It is a failed state that practises such a useless system. Protection of life and property remains the state’s primary responsibility,” he added.

But Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olanrewaju Ishola, said officers protecting Very Important Personalities (VIPs) also respond to crimes and security threats wherever they are, thereby helping to protect lives and property.

He said:  “We have the department we call VIP protection unit, and people that have approval and are entitled to police officers are being given, but it’s not for all comers.

“While they are on duty protecting VIPs, they can equally respond to security threats and crimes wherever they are.”

However, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, had vowed to withdraw Police Mobile Force (PMF) personnel from VIPs upon assumption of office.

He also announced plans to establish the Special Intervention Squad, which, according to him, would have 40,000 highly trained police officers, including selected officers from the PMF.

However, the policy has not been implemented a year after the proposal, as police escorts still mill around VIPs.

But Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, said there is no going back on the IGP’s proposal to withdraw PMF personnel from VIPs.

Adejobi said the decision to withdraw PMF personnel from VIP duties is part of ongoing efforts to optimise the allocation of resources and enhance the efficiency of the Nigeria Police Force in its core mandate of safeguarding the life and property of all citizens.

Nevertheless, he clarified that the Force is committed to providing adequate security arrangements for VIPs entitled to such protection.