The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has turned down requests for VIP protection from at least five senators as the security agency grapples with a surge in requests for personal protection following the withdrawal of police personnel from private guard duties.
An NSCDC officer who spoke with THE WHISTLER on condition of anonymity said the agency has been stretched thin in the last two weeks.
“We are under pressure due to the upsurge of requests for protection by VIPs,” the officer said.
“We have had to turn down five senators due to increased requests. The situation is overwhelming, and we simply do not have the manpower to satisfy everyone.”
The revelation comes in the wake of President Bola Tinubu’s directive to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to withdraw all police personnel attached to VIPs and other private individuals.
The directive, issued on November 26, is targeted at addressing growing insecurity, including recent attacks on worship centres and the abduction of schoolchildren in several states.
The IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, had revealed that 11,566 police officers guarding VIPs were withdrawn after the president’s directive.
THE WHISTLER gathered that requests to the NSCDC for private protection have more than doubled since the presidential directive, leaving the corps struggling to maintain operational balance.
“Every day, new applications come in from politicians, businessmen, and even community leaders. But our priority remains national infrastructure and critical assets. We cannot abandon our core mandate,” the officer told THE WHISTLER.
On November 26, President Tinubu declared a nationwide security emergency and ordered massive recruitment across the Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police Force.
Under the directive, the police are expected to recruit an additional 20,000 personnel, raising their recruitment total to 50,000. They will also convert NYSC camps to training centres.
Officers withdrawn from VIP duties are to undergo crash retraining for deployment to volatile areas.
President Tinubu had also ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to deploy trained forest guards and recruit more operatives to tackle bandits occupying forested regions.
The security measures followed attacks on worship centres and schools in parts of the country.
Although the 24 schoolgirls kidnapped in Kebbi and the 38 worshippers in Kwara have recovered, about 300 students said to have been abducted from St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, are still missing.
Earlier in November 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” for severe violations of religious freedom.
Citing alleged targeted killings of Christians, President Trump warned on social media that if Nigeria fails to stop these killings, the U.S. would cut all aid and could intervene militarily in the country.
The U.S. president threatened to send troops to Nigeria to “wipe out” alleged Islamic terrorists responsible for attacks.