By Sunny Attah
The ongoing debate over whether the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) should assume responsibility for VIP protection from the Nigeria Police Force is both timely and necessary. As Nigeria reassesses its security architecture amid evolving internal threats, it becomes crucial to allocate institutional responsibilities in a way that enhances national efficiency, professionalism, and public safety.
A critical analysis of the current structure reveals that the Nigeria Police Force is burdened with an unsustainable range of duties. Beyond maintaining law and order, preventing crime, conducting investigations, and managing civil unrest, the Police are also expected to provide personal protection to thousands of VIPs nationwide. This overextension has weakened the Police’s ability to deliver on its core mandate of community policing and intelligence-driven crime prevention. Reassigning VIP protection to the NSCDC would free the Police to recalibrate its operational priorities and rebuild public confidence through better visibility and improved investigative capacity.
In contrast, the NSCDC has undergone a significant transformation in both capability and institutional culture. Over the past decade, deliberate investment in welfare, training, healthcare, housing, and career development has produced one of the most motivated security services in the country. This strong welfare foundation directly enhances operational performance, discipline, and psychological readiness—attributes essential for a specialized duty like VIP protection.
The Corps’ Arms Squad, often underestimated, is a highly skilled and professionally trained tactical unit. Its training curriculum includes advanced firearms proficiency, convoy and escort management, defensive driving, threat and vulnerability assessment, counter-surveillance, and emergency extraction procedures. These modules align with international VIP protection standards seen in developed countries. The Squad has consistently demonstrated competence during national deployments, crisis response operations, and joint security interventions, validating its readiness to handle high-risk protective assignments.
Furthermore, shifting VIP protection to the NSCDC would help resolve a long-standing structural problem that has diminished the effectiveness of the Police: the diversion of officers to perform domestic or non-professional tasks for powerful individuals. This trend not only erodes the integrity of the Police Force but also deprives communities of much-needed law enforcement presence. Reassigning these functions would help professionalize security services and restore dignity to the policing institution.
The NSCDC already manages protection of critical national assets, disaster response, and support roles during multi-agency operations. Its operational footprint and proven track record make the addition of VIP protection a logical extension—one that aligns with global best practices where security roles are clearly delineated to maximize efficiency.
This policy shift is not a critique of the Nigeria Police but a pragmatic realignment of responsibilities to ensure that each agency performs optimally. The question before Nigeria is not whether the NSCDC can do the job, but whether the nation can continue with a structure that overstretches one agency while underutilizing the strengths of another.
The evidence is clear: the NSCDC has the discipline, training, welfare structure, and operational maturity required for VIP protection. Empowering the Corps to assume this mandate will strengthen the entire security ecosystem and contribute to a more effective, accountable, and balanced national security framework.
The time to adopt this transition is now—driven not by sentiment, but by strategic necessity and a commitment to building a security system that truly serves all Nigerians.
*Attah is a Civil Society Activist and the country director, STAND UP Nigeria
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