AS insecurity hits the country, a Civil Society Organization, One Love Foundation, OLF, weekend, demanded the disbandment of VIP Protection Unit of the Nigerian Police Force.
The demand was contained in a letter addressed to the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, by the Founder and President, OLF, Chief Patrick Eholor, and signed by his lawyer, Robert Igbinedion Esq.
The letter dated February 16, 2024, with subject ‘Demand for the disbandment of VIP Protection Unit and Your Compliance with various Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) as regards to Equality of Nigerians which the Nigerian Police Force is in Flagrant Breach’ quoted Chapter 4 Section 42(1) “A citizen of a particular community, either ethnic, place of origin, sex, religion, or political shall not only that he is such a person:-
b): Be accorded either expressly by, or in the practical application of any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action, any privileged or advantage that is not accorded to citizens of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religion or political opinion.”
The letter further reads, “As a country, we are far behind in meeting the United Nations for the number of Police needed to police the citizenry, one wonders why the little we have is being hijacked by a few privileged individuals under the illegal and unconstitutional VIP Protection Unit and policy presently being implemented by the Nigerian Police Force under your command where individuals and organisations after haven paid money to the Police officers attached to themselves to act as a status symbol and perform many domestic chores for them.
“Sir, a quick internet search will reveal that the Nigeria Police Force is staffed with about Three Hundred and Seventy One Thousand, Eight Hundred (371,800) personnel.
“If this figure is divided by 8,813 electoral wards that will give an average of about 20 Police personnel per ward, some rural communities have up to two (2) wards meaning that they can be allocated up to forty (40) Police officers. Some fairly big communities have up to four (4) wards meaning that up to eighty (80) Police personnel can be posted there to man the area.
“However, the Police are hardly visible and accessible to the ordinary Nigerians and various communities in time of need because of the so-called illegal and unconstitutional VIP Protection Unit which was inherited by your office and which you continue to implement.
“It may interest you to know that a foreigner coming into Nigeria can easily arrange to have a Police escort lead him out of the Airport to any part of the country while there are several communities in Nigeria who cannot get police presence despite years of request.
“There exist several Police Stations/Posts which were constructed by efforts of communities in Nigeria and left unused for several years as officers have not been posted there.
“Over the years, successive Inspector Generals of Police have tinkered with the lofty idea of doing the right thing by scrapping the VIP Protection Unit, so that personnel can be posted equitably to all nooks and crannies of Nigeria like it is done in all civilized countries but ended up becoming worse. I am sorry to inform you that things are getting from bad to worse under your watch, someone has to do the right thing even if the heavens fall.
“The very idea of VIP Protection Unit is unconditional and illegal, more illegal is now entrenched practice where VIPs pay individual Police officers because it is against the code of conduct enshrined in the Constitution.
“More worrisome is the fact that most of the VIPs already live in bulletproof houses and drive bulletproof cars, hence pay for and use Police escort as a mere status symbol, merely helping with house chores, acting as drivers and running errands for the VIPs, their wives, and children since they hardly spend time in Nigeria, leaving the offices redundant several months in a year.
“The ills, illegality and unconstitutionality of not distributing Nigerian Police officers in line with the Constitution and needs of the Nigerian populace is too numerous to mention.
“We humbly demand that the policy should be scrapped and discontinued with immediate effect in order not to continue to insult the collective psyche of Nigerian taxpayers who understand how the police function in other civilized climes.”
About The Author
