A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dele Momodu, has alleged that the Federal Government’s directive ordering the withdrawal of police escorts from Very Important Personalities (VIPs) is a calculated move to stifle opposition figures ahead of future political contests.

Momodu, who spoke on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Wednesday, described the directive as lopsided, insisting that the policy should apply strictly to politicians operating within the federal capital, not to private citizens whose security needs are legitimate.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had recently ordered the recall of police escorts attached to VIPs, directing that they be redeployed to strengthen community policing nationwide.

Reacting to the development, the publisher of Ovation magazine argued that successful business figures such as Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola should not lose their security protection, stressing that the move appears targeted at non-government politicians.

“It is not a crime to be successful,” he said. “Those who should lose their escorts are politicians in Abuja, not ordinary Nigerians. This withdrawal of police escorts is part of a broader strategy to suffocate the opposition.”

Momodu, a former presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), maintained that the directive sends the wrong signal at a time when insecurity remains a major national concern.