“Wase Warns of Kidnap Threats to Lawmakers, Seeks Review of Police Withdrawal from VIPs”

A former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Idris Wase, has warned that bandits are issuing direct threats to abduct members of the National Assembly amid Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.

Wase raised the alarm on Wednesday, Nov. 26, during the ongoing debate in the House on the country’s escalating wave of violent attacks, kidnappings, and banditry.

He urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reconsider his recent directive ordering the withdrawal of police officers attached to Very Important Personalities (VIPs). According to him, the growing insecurity means lawmakers and other public officials are now more exposed than ever.

On Sunday, Nov. 23, President Tinubu directed police personnel assigned to VIPs nationwide to return to their bases. The order, delivered during a high-level security meeting with Service Chiefs and the DSS Director-General in Abuja, mandated that operatives of the Police Special Protection Unit (SPU) refocus on core policing duties.

Under the new policy, VIPs requiring security escorts must now submit formal requests to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) instead of relying on the Nigeria Police Force.

The Presidency said the move was aimed at boosting police presence in underserved rural and remote communities that suffer the most from criminal attacks.

However, Wase warned that withdrawing police protection from lawmakers at a time of heightened insecurity could “produce unintended consequences,” stressing that members of the National Assembly have already received threats from criminal groups.