CONFUSION IN THE RANKS: Police Ignore Tinubu’s Order, Remain Guarding Corporate Firms — “We Have Not Been Asked To Leave”

In a surprising twist that raises fresh questions about command compliance within Nigeria’s security architecture, Mobile Police Force officers deployed to major companies and corporate installations across Abuja have remained firmly at their duty posts—despite President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s sweeping directive ordering the withdrawal of police personnel from VIP protection duties nationwide.

President Tinubu had, on Sunday, issued a bold nationwide instruction mandating the immediate redeployment of police officers attached to VIPs back to community policing roles, as part of efforts to strengthen security presence across the country.

The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, followed up on Thursday by announcing that at least 11,566 police personnel previously assigned to VIP duties had already been reassigned to mainstream policing tasks across states.

However, on-ground findings reveal a starkly different reality.

According to checks conducted by The Punch, police officers attached to corporate facilities, private companies, construction sites, and security gates have not vacated their posts. Many remain actively on duty, seemingly untouched by the presidential directive.

A Mobile Police officer stationed at a construction company in Abuja told Sunday Punch on Friday that no instruction had been issued for them to leave their posts.

> “We have not been asked to leave,” the officer stated confidently. “And I don’t think we will be asked to go because most of the people here are foreigners.”

His statement reflects a broader pattern, as officers attached to companies in areas such as Jabi and Central Business District continue their operations unhindered.

A staff member of a corporate firm in Jabi also confirmed that mobile policemen were still reporting for duty as usual.

> “The officers guarding our offices are still there,” the staff member said. “I even asked one of them about the directive, and he said it did not affect those assigned to companies.”

The development raises pressing questions about whether the directives have been fully communicated, selectively implemented, or quietly resisted — especially in cases involving foreign-owned firms and sensitive corporate installations.

As Nigerians await clarity from police authorities, the unfolding situation underscores lingering gaps between policy pronouncements from the highest office and execution at the operational level on the ground.