Welcome to Thursday’s roundup of Nigerian newspaper headlines, accompanied by our advocacy-focused calls on issues that impact citizens.

1. Daily Trust: Police Withdrawal: Tinubu Directs Ministers to Obtain Clearance for Escorts

President Bola Tinubu has insisted that his directive ordering the redeployment of police officers attached to VIPs, VVIPs, and ministers must be carried out without exception. Speaking at the Federal Executive Council meeting, he cautioned ministers against disregarding the instruction and advised those with genuine operational concerns to contact the Inspector General of Police for clearance.

Our Take: It is time for Nigerians to pay close attention and demand that this directive does not become another bold announcement that quietly disappears into the Abuja air. Citizens should insist on full enforcement, ask questions when VIP convoys still swarm the roads like migrating locusts, and hold leaders accountable for respecting the same security structures meant to protect everyone else.

2. Punch: ECOWAS Court: Nigeria tops countries ignoring judgements

Punch reports that Nigeria ranks highest in the number of unenforced judgements issued by the ECOWAS Court of Justice, according to the Court’s Deputy Chief Registrar, Gaye Sowe, who presented regional enforcement statistics during the recent World Human Rights Day commemoration. He noted a persistent pattern of non-compliance across member states, with Nigeria carrying the largest backlog, having 125 cases in total, 67 dismissed, 10 enforced, and about 50 still awaiting enforcement.

Our Take: Nigeria must move beyond treating ECOWAS Court judgements like unread emails, piling up until the inbox starts flashing red, by taking concrete steps to enforce the nearly 50 outstanding rulings that speak directly to citizens’ rights and state accountability.

3. The Guardian: FG Sets Up Panel on N4 trillion Outstanding Owed Contractors

President Tinubu has set up a high-level ministerial committee to address the federal government’s more than N4 trillion debt owed to over 2,000 contractors, many of whom say the delays have caused financial ruin, protests, and even health crises.

Our Take: President Tinubu and the Minister of Finance must move beyond setting up yet another committee and provide Nigerians with a clear, public, and time-bound plan for settling the over N4 trillion owed to contractors whose livelihoods have been hanging on government IOUs for years. The minister should provide a real, dated, and trackable payment timeline, which should be released immediately so that these contractors can finally see movement instead of more meetings.