The new acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar Adamu has sounded a serious warning to politicians and their supporters not to test the will of his men and officers in the forthcoming elections.

The police boss, who held a conference with strategic police managers at the Force headquarters in Abuja today, Monday, remarked: “nobody should be in doubt as to the capacity and renewed determination of the Police to deal decisively with elements that attempt to test our will by engaging in political violence or other electoral offences, including vote buying which could threaten our democratic values.

He further warned that any citizen that intend to offer himself or herself to be used negatively as cannon folders for political actors should either have a rethink or be ready to face the consequences.

The police boss, tasked all commissioners of Police across all the 36 Police State Commands and the FCT to galvanize their personnel and mobilize logistics towards ensuring a peaceful and credible outcome of the general elections, adding that they are also tasked to identify possible threats.

He vowed to apply all legal and professional means to neutralize trouble makers ahead of the elections, adding that in order to ensure that offenders are conclusively brought to justice, the DIG FCIID has been directed to set up Special Election Investigation Teams (SEIT) that will be tasked with the exclusive functions of taking in custody and undertake detailed investigation of all arrested electoral offenders across the country.

“The Teams shall also liaise with the Independent National Electoral Commission towards the prompt processing of the casefiles of the offenders for prosecution.

He stressed that he had already laid out a number of engagements that are critical to the attainment of the election security mandate within the context of the Electoral Act.

“Within the past few days, I have received briefs from Heads of Departments and I have also attended the meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) which was hosted by the National Security Adviser and which had all strategic leaders in the election security architecture in attendance.

“In addition, a capacity building training on democratic policing and elections security management for police officers is currently on-going. The training is designed to hold across the 12 Police Zonal Headquarters starting from today 21^st January 2018 to 8^th February, 2018. Prior to this the Office of the National Security Adviser had organized similar election security capacity building training for the Police and other security agencies.

“All these initiatives are part of the broad plans directed at ensuring quality security service delivery by the Police and other security agencies during the general elections.  Today’s meeting is another critical engagement in our resolve to develop an effective framework that will engender optimal police performance during the national exercise.”

Mohammed Adamu said that the strategic planning meeting was designed to achieve among others, undertake national security threat analysis and level of preparation for the elections at the State Command levels, discuss limitations and evaluate strategies towards managing the identified threats.

It is also designed to enable professional interaction between the Police, INEC leadership, and strategic partners across the country with a view to perfecting interventions that will aid in the attainment of our election security mandate as the lead agency in the election security management process.

“The credibility of any election is determined not just by the legal framework regulating it and the conduct of the actors within the process but by the extent of professionalism and operational competence displayed by the Police.

“Conscious of this reality, I assure the nation and the international community that the Nigeria Police Force shall coordinate effectively with other complementary security agencies, and collaborate efficiently with the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission in guaranteeing a safe and secure space for the citizens to freely exercise their electoral franchise.”

President Muhammadu Buhari has adjudged religious and ethnic cleavages by some Nigerians as injustice and corrupt acts.

 The President, who hosted his personal aides that worked with him when he was military head of state between January 1984 and August 1985 at the Presidential villa, Abuja, stressed that recourse to the smokescreen of religion and ethnicity “is just corruption, pure and simple.”

 Buhari then went down the memory lane, drawing lessons from his electoral battles at the courts in 2003, 2007, and 2011, where those who ruled against him were Muslims from the North, but those who defended him were Christians from the South.

“I was recently forced to talk to somebody I respect a lot about Nigeria. I said in 2003, when I started out, complaints about presidential election used to start from the Court of Appeal. The president of the court then was my classmate in secondary school for six years. Himself, myself and Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, were classmates. My lawyer, Mike Ahamba, was Roman Catholic and an Ibo man. My first witness was in the box. Ahamba said he needed the register of voters in certain constituencies and states to prove that votes were just allocated, and not true reflection of what existed in the constituencies. He asked them to record his request and sign. They did so.

“When they came to give judgment later, the matter was not mentioned at all. In the panel was another Roman Catholic and Ibo, who raised his hand and said, this is what Buhari’s lawyer had said. Did we write to those constituencies and states to submit the register? If so, why is it not in the judgment? They just shut him up. He had to write a minority judgment. Of course, he’s now our Ambassador in United States of America.

“I petitioned the Supreme Court. Who was the Chief Justice? A Muslim, probably a Fulani, from Zaria. After 27 months, we went. Ahamba addressed the court for 2 hours and 45 minutes. They went in, came out after about 45 minutes, and said they were proceeding on vacation the next day. They were away for three months, making it 30 months in all. When they came back, they dismissed the case within 45 minutes.

“In 2007, they repeated the same thing. Who was the Chief Justice? A northerner and Muslim. After 18 months, they dismissed the case.

“The third time, who was CJ? A Muslim, Fulani man from Jigawa. After 8 months, he dismissed the case. This bloody nonsense about Nigeria on ethnicity and religion is just corruption, pure and simple. Wherever we find ourselves, let’s pray to God that we maintain our faith. That’s all we have.

“I try to do my best, and pray to God to help me. May God Almighty give us the ways and means to continue to do our best for the country. Whatever religion we follow, let’s do it seriously, as finally, we would appear before God. Whether we believe it or not, it will happen. So, we better continue to behave ourselves.”

President Buhari described the reunion and interactive meeting as an “emotional one” for him, as he had not seen some of the people since 1985, when the military regime he headed was toppled.

He commended his former Aide-de-Camp, Alhaji Mustapha Jokolo, who used his initiative to put the parley together, even as he commended his former Number two man, Major General Tunde Idiagbon (now deceased), whom he said, showed uncommon loyalty and courage. His words:

“He was in Saudi Arabia, performing the hajj, when we were removed. The Saudi king said the coup was not just against us, but also against him, since Idiagbon was praying with him.

“He asked him to send for his family to join him in Saudi until it was clear where I was. Idiagbon said no, I want to go back, Your Majesty. If they kill him, let them kill me also.

“He joined the next flight and came back. I think there’s no way you can describe such loyalty, such courage. May his soul rest in perfect peace.”

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that following the report of his committee, President Muhammadu Buhari has directed that the sacked Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal and Director General of the Nigeria Intelligent Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ayo Oke should be prosecuted.

“Secondly, the President (Buhari) has directed that the SGF and former DG of NIA should be prosecuted. So, we are expecting that prosecution will take place.”

Professor Osinbajo, who spoke at a dialogue organized by Christian Youths in Lagos State, under the aegis of the GRILL, Ikeja Branch, said: “I think the first thing for us is that the report was acted upon; the former SGF was dismissed.”

He said that next is that criminal allegations will be filed against the two sacked government officials, after the prosecution process has been completed.

Osinbajo commended the way President Buhari has been addressing what he called ‘grand corruption,’ which he said is the main problem that led to the destruction of the nation’s economy.

“Corruption has had detrimental effects on Nigeria’s economy. This country was subjected to corruption for many years. Grand corruption perpetuated by previous governments is responsible for the state of the economy.

“Many of the projects in the country initiated by the previous government are not completed because of corruption. Grand corruption makes people start projects and never complete them.

“Grand corruption is when the head of government takes money from the treasury and shares it to the people. You will never find people stealing from the public treasury under this administration.

“The same individuals who robbed this country are saying they want to come back and fix the problems. We should ask them what they are going to do about grand corruption. How are you sure they are not going to enrich their friends with public funds?”