The African Democratic Congress (ADC), on Monday, called for a comprehensive national security strategy that integrates all security agencies into a holistic counter-insurgency force nationwide.

In a statement by its national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, in Abuja, the party said President Bola Tinubu’s directive withdrawing police from VIPs would not meaningfully improve national security.

According to Mr Abdullahi, Nigeria’s security challenge is beyond the police and requires broader national collaboration to ensure effective responses within communities nationwide.

“While the directive makes good headlines, it is not new and shows the government misunderstands the true nature and complexity of Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.

“A country battling terrorism, banditry, mass abductions and violent crime cannot afford to confuse public relations for policy during this national emergency.

“To start with, this is not the first time we are hearing this from the government.

“In 2025 alone, such orders were issued twice by the IGP, reportedly acting under presidential directives, yet no meaningful actions followed despite expectations for enforcement.

“Nevertheless, even if the president succeeds in relieving the police of VIP duties, the security crisis will remain unresolved without systemic reforms and modernised coordination.

“We must face the concern that, by their training, mentality and orientation, these policemen are ill-suited and ill-equipped for the desperate emergency confronting the nation,” he said.

Mr Abdullahi stated that removing police security from VIPs might please the public or appeal to popular opinion, but the action might fail to address Nigeria’s security problem.

He added that the claims that the directive would add 100,000 men to the police would only fill numerical gaps, stressing that the problem was about capability rather than headcount alone.

“Even our military struggles with the sophistication and adaptability of insurgents, let alone policemen who are ill-equipped, ill-trained and ill-motivated for counter-insurgency work.

“We find it intriguing that while policemen are withdrawn from VIPs, the government replaces them with NSCDC officers whose mandate covers disaster risk reduction and community protection,” he added.

The ADC spokesman emphasised that Nigeria’s security challenges must be addressed comprehensively rather than cosmetically, requiring coordinated strategies capable of confronting persistent threats undermining national stability.

“What the country’s needs is not reshuffling personnel for headlines but a coherent national security strategy grounded in modernisation, intelligence and institutional integration to produce solutions.

“For the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to perform effectively, they must be restructured, re-equipped and retrained to confront contemporary threats.

“This work is urgent, and half measures will not suffice because Nigeria requires decisive action and comprehensive reforms to restore security, stability and public confidence,” he stated.

Mr Abdullahi urged the government to go beyond pronouncements and initiate a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s entire security architecture.

(NAN)