The Presidency has issued a directive against driving of vehicles with tinted glasses into the presidential villa without proper security checks, as this poses a security risk to the villa.
In a January 26 circular titled “Use of tinted cars around the Presidential Villa, Abuja”, B Abubakar, who is the Chief Security Officer to President Muhammadu Buhari, said it was against standard security procedure to drive cars into the presidential villa without adequate security checks.
While stating that cars used to perpetrate terror attacks against high-profile targets all over the world were mostly hijacked or tinted, he warned against the activities of drivers of official vehicles who refuse to wind down their glasses under the excuse that they were driving official cars or driving VIPs, stating that it would no longer be tolerated.
The circular read: “It has been observed that some staff of the Presidential Villa driving tinted cars, especially security personnel are in the habit of refusing to wind down their windscreen for security checks before driving into the Villa.
“It is most worrisome that some of them use the excuse of either driving official cars or driving VIPs to justify their acts.
“This act, which is not in tandem with standard security drill and procedure, poses serious threat to the safety and security of the Villa.
“It is important to note that the insistence of security operatives at the pilot gates to properly screen vehicles coming into the Villa whether tinted or not tinted, official or unofficial is not out of place.
“Therefore, there is need for all to subject themselves and their vehicles to security checks as the case may be, so as to prevent unscrupulous elements from exploring the situation to launch attacks on the Villa.
“More so, that most of the major attacks by terrorists groups on high profile targets around the world are being carried out using hijacked vehicles or vehicles with tinted glasses.”
He urged heads of units/departments to advise the personnel working with them to subject themselves to security checks.