Dele Momodu Accuses Tinubu of Using VIP Police Escort Withdrawal to Target Atiku
Former PDP presidential aspirant and media mogul, Dele Momodu, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu is weaponising the recent order withdrawing police escorts from VIPs to specifically target former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
In a statement posted on his verified X account on Tuesday, Momodu said he became suspicious the moment the escort-withdrawal policy was announced. According to him, presidential aides first circulated a “dummy list” of affected individuals to test public reaction.
Momodu claimed the list, which included names such as FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, Aisha Buhari, and Atiku Abubakar, was deliberately crafted to mislead the public. He said he predicted the list would soon be disowned as fake, which happened within 24 hours.
He argued that Atiku, who constitutionally retains security protection as a former vice president, was an obvious target of the move.
Momodu insisted his conclusions were based on his “deep knowledge” of Tinubu’s political style and strategy.
The ADC chieftain warned that withdrawing escorts from VIPs could endanger prominent Nigerians and worsen insecurity, noting that many high-profile individuals legitimately require protection in today’s climate. He described the decision as dangerous, unprecedented, and short-sighted.
According to him, if the policy were truly sincere, the government could have used the opportunity to create a system allowing wealthy Nigerians to fund increased police recruitment rather than stripping away vital security details.
