A former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Oyo State, Mr Mutalubi Adebayo, has said that judges require police escorts as a matter of necessity, owing to the sensitive and high-risk nature of their judicial responsibilities.

Adebayo stated this on Sunday during an interview on ARISE Television while contributing to the ongoing national debate on the use of police escorts by public office holders.

He said judges occupy a unique and critical position in society and should not be exposed to avoidable security risks, given the nature of cases they adjudicate.

According to him, judicial officers handle criminal and other highly sensitive matters that could make them targets of attacks if left without adequate security protection.

“Judges are not just VIPs; they are a special class of people. In fact, they are more than VIPs. They need police escorts as a matter of duty. It is very compulsory for judges, considering the nature of the work they do,” Adebayo said.

He added that exposing judges to danger without adequate security cover would be unhealthy for society and could undermine the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary.

“We must not expose our judges to being attacked. They treat several criminal and sensitive matters. It will not be good, even for society, for judges to operate without police details,” he said.

The senior lawyer, however, criticised what he described as the excessive and indiscriminate use of police escorts by some political office holders, stressing that such privileges should be regulated and restricted.

He said senators and other political figures who require protection could engage the services of licensed private security firms instead of relying on police personnel.

“If senators need security, they should apply for private guards from private security companies. Do they want to compare what they do to the work of judges?” he asked.

Adebayo acknowledged that some categories of public servants, including ministers, might require police escorts, but emphasised that the number of security personnel attached to them should be limited.

“What I don’t like is the habit of moving around with large retinues of security operatives, as if the president himself is going out. Escorts should be limited and properly regulated,” he said.

Drawing from his personal experience, Adebayo revealed that he never used a police escort during his four-year tenure as Oyo State Attorney-General.

“I never had a police escort. I never applied for one. My office processed security applications for other ministers and political appointees, but I did not use them,” he said.

According to him, excessive security presence could sometimes expose public officials to greater risk rather than protect them.

“When you enter a place quietly, you may go unnoticed. But once people see police officers around you, they begin to ask questions about who you are, and you become exposed. The guilty are always afraid,” he added.

Adebayo’s comments come amid ongoing public discussions following President Bola Tinubu’s directive for the withdrawal of police escorts from certain categories of VIPs, as part of efforts to redeploy officers to core policing duties.

The debate was further fuelled recently when Senator Ali Ndume questioned the continued deployment of police escorts to the families of some ministers.