The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has said that the presidential directive ordering the withdrawal of police officers attached to Very Important Personalities is part of measures to combat rising insecurity in the country.
However, the media aide to the CJN, Tobi Soniyi, stated that the directive does not affect judges.
Some VIPs have had the police officers attached to them withdrawn following the directive.
The Chief Judge of Taraba State, Justice Joel Agya, had on Tuesday stated that police orderlies attached to judges in the state had been withdrawn, warning that the development poses a significant security risk.
He explained that judges and governors had earlier been exempted from the directive, recognising their legal entitlement to police protection.
He added that despite this exemption, police orderlies assigned to judicial officers across Taraba were withdrawn on December 8 without prior notice.
“Firstly, it is a threat to judges’ security and personal safety, as judges handling sensitive criminal, political, terrorism and corruption cases are exposed to high risk,” Justice Agya said.
“Secondly, it undermines judicial independence. Judicial independence is not only the absence of interference but also protection from intimidation. Without orderlies, courtrooms can become unsafe, and proceedings may be disrupted,” he was reported to have said.
Reacting to the CJ’s complaint, Soniyi said he was not aware that the police orderlies attached to judges had been withdrawn, wondering why such action would be taken since judges were exempted from the directive.
He added that other judges had yet to complain that their orderlies had been withdrawn. “Other chief judges have not said so,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Taraba State Commissioner of Police, Betty Isokpan, responding to Justice Agya, said the court orderlies had not been withdrawn.
She explained that the policy affected only personal police escorts and guards, not officers assigned to court duties or posted to judges’ residences.
“Every court is expected to have a court duty police officer who stays during proceedings. We have only withdrawn police escorts who accompany VIPs to places like Sokoto, Lagos and Kaduna, in compliance with the Inspector General’s directives,” she said.