As Nigerians get ready for the presidential election, which is scheduled to hold on Saturday, February 25, 2023, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has said it is prepared to ensure that the citizens are allowed to make free choices.
The Police, which is the leading security agency in the coverage of elections in the country, said it will assist the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a free, fair and credible election.
Noting that the police is ready for the presidential election, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, said it has put in place water-tight measures to ensure the conduct of free, fair and transparent elections.
The Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, has said that a total of 404,106 security operatives will be mobilised for the February 25 presidential poll.
Baba said the security operatives will include officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Federal Road Service Corps (FRSC), Nigerian Correctional Service (NCOs), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“From INEC’s records, there exist 176,846 polling units in the 8,809 wards of the 36 states and the federal capital territory, where elections will be conducted,” he said.
“The Nigeria police, with support from other security agencies, have perfected plans to deploy in a coordinated and collaborative manner to cover all locations.
“The deployment will cover the national collation centre in Abuja as well as other collation centres across the states of the federation, FCT, and 774 LGAs.
“In view of the above, the Nigeria police will deploy 310,973 personnel for election security operations. The manpower required for this exercise will be completed by the military and other security agencies.
“In this regard, aside from the military and DSS, other security agencies would contribute a total of 93,495 personnel for the election security operations.
“This includes the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps who will deploy 51,000 personnel; FRSC, 21,000; Nigerian Correctional Service, 11,336; NDLEA, 9,447; EFCC, 350, totalling 404,106.
“With this layout, a minimum of at least two personnel drawn from the above agencies will be jointly deployed to each of the polling units across the country.”
It would be recalled that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) conducted the training of its personnel on how to manage electoral offences before, during and after the elections late last year.
The Inspector-General of Police (IG), Mr. Usman Baba, said the training became necessary due to the constitutional requirements of the Nigeria Police Force to ensure peaceful, free and fair general election.
The IG said the training took place across the six geo-political zones in the country and the FCT to ensure that the officers and men of the law enforcement agency were adequately prepared for the general election.
Represented by the Commissioner of Police in charge of Training, CP Stephen Olanrewaju, the IGP said: “We know that there are problems of insecurity across the country from the North to the South and the 2023 general election is fast-approaching. Therefore, there is a need for adequate training of police officers that will be involved in the electioneering period on how to handle election-related crises.
“This is why the management of the Nigeria Police Force has approved this workshop with support from the WAN DIYOS Limited to train the officers and men of the Police in combating all problems that may arise during the election.”
While addressing the officers and men participating in the election training, the IG urged them to pay serious attention to the lectures and make good use of them as the nation expects them to be of good behaviour during the general election.
Also speaking, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 8, Asafa Rafiu, said the police force is ready to ensure that President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to ensure peaceful general election in 2023 becomes a reality.
“You will recall that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, recently for the umpteenth time assured Nigerians and the international community that his government would conduct a free, fair, transparent and credible elections in 2023 and ensure peaceful transfer of power. “Therefore, the Nigeria Police Force is ready to make sure that this assurance by Mr. President comes to reality by the grace of God,” Rafiu stated.
To achieve this, the AIG said the Police had embarked on the training and retraining of its personnel on their roles during the elections.
Rafiu disclosed that 10,000 policemen passed out at the end of December 2022 and they would be deployed to augment the police strength already on ground for the election duties.
“The Inspector-General of Police on 1st November, 2022 in collaboration with MatchMakers International, a security consultancy company organised a retreat/conference for 162 senior police officers in Owerri, Imo State for three days. The retreat was tagged, ‘The imperative of Nigeria police strategic plan for peaceful elections.’
“The signing of a peace accord by political parties in Abuja is another strategy geared towards the peaceful conduct of the 2023 general elections,” he added.
Warning that the police would not tolerate any act that could jeopardise the peaceful conduct of the elections, the AIG said, “The Nigeria Police Force under the present IGP has been trying to make sure that all the stakeholders in the coming 2023 general elections conduct themselves well.
“Therefore, the police are preaching and warning all stakeholders to make sure that the 2023 general election is conducted in a peaceful atmosphere. It has to be based on the rule of law and respect for the fundamental human rights of every citizen in Nigeria.”
It was gathered that at the state level, the IGP had instructed state Commissioners of Police to dialogue with stakeholders in their respective states on the need to eschew bitterness and violence during the elections.
Most of the CPs are said to have adequately carried out the instruction of the IGP and they are ready to ensure peaceful conduct of elections in their domains.
Also, the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, has assured the safety of Nigerians, before, during and after the general election.
In a statement, the Director of Public Relations, NSCDC National Headquarters, Abuja, DCC Olusola Odumusu, said that the corps would also protect members of the National Youth Service Corps, (NYSC), INEC officials and election materials deployed for the election.
According to him, Dr Audi gave the assurance when he hosted the Director- General of the NYSC, Brig. Gen. Yushau Dogara Ahmed and some key management staff on a courtesy call to NSCDC Headquarters in Abuja.
Audi expressed delight and optimism about the outcome of the synergy existing between the security agencies at the forefront of the 2023 election security management.
He hinted that strategies had been put in place in the interest of national security to address perceived security challenges before, during and after the election and assured that NYSC members will be adequately protected during the exercise.
He advised Nigerians to participate fully in the general election, stating that the government is committed to guaranteeing a peaceful atmosphere across the country.
He called for more public support for security agencies charged with the responsibility of delivering safe, secure and credible elections.
On its part, the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) has assured citizens and the international community of its readiness to secure the nation and ensure that the forthcoming general election holds under a peaceful and orderly atmosphere across the country.
Making this assurance is the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor.
Irabor reiterated the military’s readiness at the 25th edition of the PMB Administration’s Scorecard Series (2015-2023) held at the National Press Centre, Abuja.
Irabor, who was reacting to reports claiming that separatist groups and non-state actors had threatened to foment trouble and scuttle the elections in some parts of the country, said that the military in collaboration with the Nigeria Police and other security and intelligence agencies were battle ready to deal with such threats and ensure they do not result in any crisis.
He said the security agencies would, through their deployments in every region, ensure that all eligible voters go out to perform their civic duty without fear or molestation during the general election.
Irabor agreed that the military had decimated Boko Haram terrorists in the North -East, just as troops have been deployed to every flashpoint across the country.
He said that while insurgents no longer controlled any part of the North-East, some remnants were still trying to rear their ugly heads occasionally, resulting in attacks on soft targets.
He added that the Army would complement the police and other security agencies to ensure that the election is devoid of rancor, despite the fact that it had been overstretched in terms of manpower and equipment as soldiers were deployed to all internal security operations across the country.
“This is so because the first and second lines of defence namely, the Nigeria Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), respectively, lack the requisite capacity to handle internal security challenges.
Speaking with THEWILL, a public affairs analyst , John Anazodo, said the police had performed creditably well in off-cycle elections, such as the governorship elections that were held in Ondo and Edo States in 2020 and the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections in 2022.
He expressed the hope that the police would be able to give a good account of itself in the presidential election coming up next week.
“The police have performed extremely well in off-cycle elections. But in a general election such as we are going to have next week, they need to brace up their sleeves and ensure a peaceful and rancor- free election,” Anazodo said.
He particularly warned that the police should post enough men to the flashpoint states like Lagos, Kano and Kaduna, adding that if they are determined and with the good preparation, the police is capable of achieving success in the election.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
