The Nigeria police have already expressed concern over the dangerous activities of those they described as desperate politicians as the nation’s elections approach.
The police said: “we, however, remain genuinely concerned about the disposition of some ill-advised political actors who appear bent on threatening our democratic values and our national security all in their desperation to project their narrow political interests over and above national interests.
“We are also concerned about subversive actors who masquerade as politicians and are taking advantage of the freedoms that our democracy has bestowed on the citizens to encourage hate speeches and misinformation, and inflame passion in a manner that could threaten our stable political order.
“Equally worrisome are reports of firearms build-up by some political actors and threats in some other quarters to disrupt the electoral process. We also note an increasing level of political intolerance which has been occasioning pockets of inter-party violence and destruction of campaign billboards across the country. All of these constitutes not only serious electoral or criminal infractions, but major national security threats.”
Addressing Deputy Commissioners of police in charge of operations from across the country today in Abuja, the acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu warned those who are engaged in such unacceptable activities, that the officers and men of the Force will vehemently protect the law abiding citizens.
The leadership of the Force, he added, will identify, isolate “and deal decisively with any political actor that acts in contravention of the Electoral Act or our Criminal Laws. This is our sacred Mandate and this we shall perform within the dictates of the law and in the overriding national security interest.”
He advised the officers that as they return to their Commands, they should carry out the following:
- To, under the directives of your CPs, coordinate effectively with the Resident Electoral Commissioners in your States
- Avail yourselves of the pieces of critical information provided by your Resident Electoral Commissioners and utilize them effectively in perfecting all arrangements for effective deployment of personnel and logistics
iii. Perfect an advanced plan for the mobilization and deployment of personnel from sister security agencies that will be available to complement the Police during the elections
- Emplace adequate security architecture for the security of INEC personnel, facilities, and all electoral materials
- Emplace adequate arrangement for the safety and security of all local and international observers as may be accredited by INEC
- Orientate all personnel on the need to perform their electoral security functions within the dictates of the Electoral Act, the Fundamental Human Rights provision of the Constitution, and the Code of Conduct developed and approved for Police Personnel on Election Duties by the Police Service Commission.
vii. Undertake concerted raids of black spots with a view to frustrating elements that could constitute a threat to a peaceful electoral process
viii. Be conscious of the directive touching on the withdrawal of security aides from political office holders and other personalities and commit to enforcing the order on the day of the elections.
- Undertake a ‘Show of Force’ operation in conjunction with other security agencies in order to strengthen public confidence on the readiness of the Police and other sister security agencies for the elections.
- Emplace strategies to give effect to my recent directives to mop-up illicit firearms in circulation as part of the broad strategies directed at addressing the threat of electoral violence.
IGP Adamu assured the nation and the international community of the full preparedness of the Nigeria Police for the general elections and called on all citizens to continue to support them in their common drive towards bequeathing to our nation the legacy of a credible and peaceful 2019 general elections.
“I am confident that working together, we shall meet this expectation.”