- Says 203 electoral offenders arrested
BY TIMOTHY AGBOR
The Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, on Monday, met with top police chiefs and appraised the performance of the force before, during and after the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections in the country.
The meeting held at the Goodluck Jonathan Peacekeeping Hall, Force Headquarters, Abuja, according to a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, CPS Olumuyiwa Adejobi.
According to the statement, the Strategic Police Managers included Deputy Inspectors-General of Police and members of the Force Management Team, Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, Commissioners of Police, and heads of tactical investigative and operational units.
Baba debriefed officers posted for election security management duties and appraised the performance of the Nigeria Police Force at the elections in order to identify gaps, and perfect the action plan for the forthcoming March 11 Governorship and State Assembly Elections.
Similarly, the statement noted that IGP applauded the high level of resilience, and utmost professionalism displayed by Officers and men of the Nigeria Police as well as other security agencies in the course of the election security operations in line with the Reviewed Standard Operational Guidelines and Rules for Police Officers and Other Security Agents on Electoral Duties which was issued to all officers in the countdown to the election operations.
He equally attributed the professionalism of the officers to the various pre-election pieces of training, meticulous planning, massive operational assets procurement and deployment, as well as prioritized welfare.
The IGP noted that about 185 major incidents were responded to by the Police across the country during the elections, while a total of 203 offenders linked to various electoral offences and sundry crimes have so far been arrested, and 18 firearms of various calibres were recovered from political thugs during the exercise.
He emphasized that the cases are at various stages of investigation at the Nigeria Police Electoral Offences Desks and assured that they would be concluded and processed to the Legal Department of the Independent National Electoral Commission for prosecution.
Baba reiterated that the Nigeria Police is committed to evolving pathways to incrementally strengthen the Force’s operational capacity and professional knowledge in navigating through the complex electoral process dynamics to police the nation’s democratic heritage and meet the expectations of the electorates.
