Officers of the Department of State Services have started lobbying influential Nigerians to take them on as personal security details.
This follows the enforcement of withdrawal of police escorts from VIPs.
President Tinubu had, on November 24, ordered the withdrawal of all police officers attached to VIPs and politicians as part of an aggressive push against escalating insecurity across the country, including kidnapping spikes in Kwara, Kebbi, Niger and other parts of the North.
A statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu directed armed operatives from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to take up the VIP protection duties from the police.
Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, three days later, said a total of 11,566 personnel had been withdrawn from VIP duties and redeployed.
It was gathered that following the police recall, prominent Nigerians have been reaching out to the NSCDC and private security companies for the supply of orderlies and security escorts.
Findings revealed that some DSS officers have been approaching some of the highly placed VIPs to request that they ask their state directors to deploy them as new security guards.
An online newspaper had quoted one of the VIPs who said the secret policemen had met him twice to ask that he speak with their state director and request that they be deployed as his new security guards.
The VIP, a top executive at a Federal Government revenue-generating agency in Lagos, said, “The policemen attached to me were withdrawn last week, and I was considering getting men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
“But these DSS officers are showing up and presenting themselves as alternatives. They came here twice to request that I speak with their state director so they can be deployed here as my new security details. They are known persons to me, so they must have seen this place as a juicy area.”
Asked if he would consider their request, the VIP said, “I am not sure. The reason being that what is the total number of the DSS?”
Meanwhile, the lobby is not stopping with heads of government agencies as businessmen and religious leaders are also being targeted by the secret policemen, especially the popular ones.
However, a senior DSS officer who is aware of his colleagues’ moves said some of the personnel making the move are “lower cadre.”
According to him, unlike the police, the DSS has strict rules on attaching its officers to VIPs, adding that the current Director-General of the Service, Adeola Ajayi, eradicated “arbitrary posting.”
“I’m aware that some of our men are seeking to replace policemen attached to some high-profile VIPs. I don’t want to talk much about that, but I can tell you that those making the move are lower cadre, not senior officers.
“The new rule under the current DG is that anybody above Level 13 should not be deployed to VIPs except to the governor or the State House in Abuja. The DG has eradicated arbitrary deployment. So, those seeking to be attached to the VIPs now may be engaging in a wild goose chase,” he said.
Another DSS officer said that providing protection for VIPs is part of the agency’s statutory responsibility, even as he cautioned his colleagues against being “desperate” to secure such postings.
“There is an element of truth in every rumour. That some officers are lobbying to be deployed to VIPs after the withdrawal of police may be true. However, it is wrong to assume that attaching DSS personnel to VIPs is out of place. No. We have the statutory responsibility to protect VIPs.
“But the deployment of any officer will follow all established protocols, which are not for public consumption. So, those eyeing ‘juicy’ postings or deployment to highly placed VIPs should remember that it is not automatic,” he said.
Findings show that demand for private security escorts has surged nationwide following the President’s directive to withdraw policemen from VIPs.
Several security operators, who spoke to our correspondents in separate interviews on Thursday, confirmed that they had received multiple requests for travel escorts from VIPs across the country.
The Managing Director of Sheriff Deputies, Mr Island Anyasi, said the spike in demand had also come with fresh challenges.
“The demand has increased since that order was given by the President,” he said.
“We, as private companies, have always worked with the police and the NSCDC to fulfil those VIP protection duties. But now, we have been restricted to the NSCDC. But they are overwhelmed with demands at this time, and they seem ill-prepared to fill that gap.”
Anyasi noted that requests had doubled in the past week, mostly from individuals preparing for interstate travel.
“Even if we are not carrying arms, you still need to secure yourselves. So, people are making those demands to buffer their security in the absence of armed personnel,” he added.
Similarly, the Lagos Operations Manager for Proton Company Limited, Mr Felix Bamgbose, confirmed a sharp rise in requests from highly placed personalities.
He said the demand had been far above the usual level in the past week, adding that the withdrawal of police personnel had also affected their operations.
“Over the past week, we have received high requests for our security guards. The request has been a lot more than the usual. But the police withdrawal has also affected our services,” he said.
Bamgbose noted that while private security guards could not carry firearms, some firms were licensed to deploy armed escorts through partnerships with agencies permitted to bear arms.
“It is the licence that makes us eligible for the partnership,” he added.
The Managing Director of Chogon Private Security Company Ltd, Mr Anselm Ozueh, also described the surge as unprecedented.
He said, “The request for escorts has been increasing daily because of that singular announcement. Before now, VIP protection has been what the Nigeria police offer to highly placed personalities in society. But the President’s order has made private security companies stand in the gap. Before, we usually have about 20 per cent demand for our security escorts. But right now, it has jumped to 70 per cent.”
Ozueh said he received calls from Abuja, Anambra, Lagos and Oyo on Thursday alone.
Explaining why VIPs still demand escorts despite the guards being unarmed, he said, “The confidence was supposed to be in the arms, the rifle. But right now, there is no rifle. But those coming perhaps believe that it is better to move around with someone who has a bit of security knowledge than to travel all alone.
“The escorts can come in the way of a bodyguard, a bouncer or someone who has a certain level of security intelligence to accompany you and help ward off small miscreants.”
He noted that in view of the rising demand, a circular was sent on Wednesday to private security companies on how they could request armed escorts from the NSCDC.
