Kayode Egbetookun, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), has withdrawn all policemen attached to Yahaya Bello, former Kogi State Governor.

These policemen, according to Chidi Odinkalu, former Chairman of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission, could have been used to arrest Bello.

His order was communicated via a police wireless message on Friday. It read, “CB:4001/DOPS/PMF/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.48/ 34 read in part, “IG has ordered the withdrawal of all policemen attached to His Excellency and former Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

“Acknowledge compliance and treat with utmost importance. Please, above, for your information and strict compliance.”

This notice followed Thursday’s publication by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The anti-graft agency declared Bello wanted after he evaded arrest in Abuja on Wednesday.

READ MORE: EFCC Declares Yahaya Bello Wanted Over N80b Fraud

After laying siege to his residence on Wednesday morning, Usman Ododo, the current Kogi State Governor, arrived the scene with policemen to help Bello escape. This prefaced the EFCC’s publication and message to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to arrest him if he attempted to flee the country.

The IGP’s decision to withdraw policemen attached to Bello has now come as a shock to several Nigerians, who describe it as an odd decision given the policemen could have arrested Bello themselves.

Odinkalu quizzed the decision via his X account. He wrote, “Can someone please make this make sense: so, at just the moment that the Nigerian government and EFCC have declared Yahaya Bello wanted, police choose to withdraw its personnel from him. Why can’t those be used to arrest him instead?”

Several other social media users expressed the same sentiments on X. Some of them can be found here and here.