February 09, (THEWILL) – The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, has approved the setting up of an Election Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Team for deployment across the states of the federation.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, CSP Olumuyiwa Adekobi, said the team will identify, analyze and mitigate threats, as well as carry out on-the-spot assessment and appraisal of the security emplacements ahead of the February 25 and March 11 elections.
The purpose, according to Adejobi, was in furtherance of the IGP’s drive for safe, secured and credible general elections as well as adequate security coverage before, during and after the elections.
“The IGP has similarly appointed the Vice President (INTERPOL) and Head, National Crime Bureau (NCB), AIG Garba Baba Umar, as the National Coordinator of the team of experienced and seasoned Police Officers with vast knowledge in election security management, to be assisted by other team members including the AIG Force Secretary, AIG Habu Sani; CP Election Monitoring, CP Basil Idegwu; the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi.
“The team also comprises 7 other Commissioners of Police, 15 Deputy Commissioners of Police, 30 Assistant Commissioners of Police, 30 Chief Superintendents of Police, and 16 Strategic Officers of other ranks.
“The IGP, while reiterating the commitment of the Police to ensuring that the elections are safe, secure, credible, and in line with global best practices, tasked the team to, amongst other things, ensure the propriety of deployments, give real-time coverage of the electoral process, and safeguard against hostile external and internal influence using INTERPOL, anti-cybercrime and intelligence tools and assets of the Nigeria Police Force.
“In the same vein, the IGP reaffirms the establishment and viability of the Electoral Offences Desks domiciled at the State Criminal Investigation Departments (SCID) of all commands across the nation, headed by the Assistant Commissioners of Police in charge of the SCID.
“The Electoral Offences Desk is saddled with the responsibility of collating, investigating and prosecuting all matters relating to electoral offences nationwide.
“The Inspector-General of Police, therefore, calls on well-meaning Nigerians, international communities, and all stakeholders to support the NPF teams in all areas, particularly on intelligence sharing and regular engagements, to achieve success in the 2023 General Elections,” the statement read.
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