2023 Campaigns: Politicians rush for police special protection  

As political campaigns and the 2023 general elections draw near in the face of festering insecurity in most parts of the country, the police have confirmed that there is a surge in the request for protection by politicians.

With campaigns for presidential and National Assembly elections commencing on September 28 and the general elections starting on February 25, the police noted that more applications were being received and more still were being expected, but pointed out that not every application would be granted.The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, in an interview explained that certain persons were by virtue of their statuses and personalities entitled to police protection, but that despite the spike in the requests, the police would consider each application on its merit and continuously work towards general security for public safety.

The Force PRO said it might be difficult to state the number of requests for police protection received so far but that the surge might not be unconnected with the upcoming campaigns and the 2023 elections.

“I don’t have the statistics for now because the requests will continue to come from various angles to the office of the IG, but generally there is an increase because most of the new candidates would want to have police protection. I know there is an increase, especially now that they will commence their campaigns very soon,” Adejobi stated.

‘Approval not automatic’

Asked if every presidential and governorship candidate would be entitled to police protection, Adejobi said, “It is not automatic. It depends on your personality, your status and the threat analysis conducted on you and if you are prone to any attack. It’s not for every Tom, Dick and Harry. It is not statutory that every candidate must get police protection.

“There are some individuals who are officially entitled to police protection and this is not negotiable. However, we still have some VIPs, who are to be protected by virtue of their personalities and statuses, which make them vulnerable or prone to attacks. Hence, we are duty-bound to provide security around them.

“Be reminded that this security arrangement is indirectly a sort of general security for them, people around them and their communities. So, the protection around them doesn’t affect our efficiency and quality service delivery in any way.”

When asked the number of policemen currently on special protection duty, Adejobi said, “No specific number of applications or men detailed to politicians. We have been receiving applications for police escort and guard on a regular basis even before we commenced the electioneering, and we will continue to receive applications, but we will be attending to them on their merit. No automatic approvals for applications or applicants as the case may be.

“We definitely expect to have more applications from politicians since the election activities have commenced, but we tend to intensify our security networking in terms of general security and public safety rather than individual protection. Hence, we are working towards the general security and public safety of Nigeria and Nigerians.”