2027: We won’t allow criminal elements to exploit electoral process — Ogun CP

The Ogun State Commissioner of Police, CP Bode Ojajuni, has warned political actors in the state against allowing criminal elements to exploit the electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Ojajuni, the 38th Commissioner of Police in the state, gave the warning in his welcome address at a workshop organized by the Command with the theme, “Elections, Security, The Law, Stakeholders’ and The Media”, held on Tuesday in Abeokuta.

The police commissioner maintained that elections were not war and urged political actors to understand and respect the legal boundaries governing electoral activities.

He said, “Elections are not a war. They are a constitutional process through which citizens choose representatives. At the end of every election, political opponents remain citizens, neighbors, and members of the same society.

“Our collective responsibility is therefore to ensure that political differences do not destroy the peace upon which our communities depend.”

He said election security remained a shared responsibility, urging all political actors to respect the law.

“Election security cannot be the responsibility of the security agencies alone. While the police and other security agencies have statutory responsibilities for maintaining public order and providing security before, during, and after elections, the success of these responsibilities depend significantly on the conduct and cooperation of all stakeholders.

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“Political parties and their supporters must respect the law. Election officials must discharge their responsibilities professionally and impartially. Observers and monitors must operate within the limits of their mandates.

“The media must provide accurate, balanced, and responsible information. Citizens must exercise their democratic rights peacefully and responsibly. Every stakeholder therefore has a role to play in ensuring that political competition does not translate into violence,” the CP added.

The state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, represented by his Special Adviser on Security, Olusola Subair (retd), charged personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to uphold professionalism and neutrality in the discharge of their duties during elections.

He described security as a critical component of democracy, stressing that the conduct and reports of security personnel could significantly influence the electoral process.

Abiodun said the workshop was an opportunity to equip security personnel with the knowledge required to perform their responsibilities effectively before, during and after elections.

He said, “We all need to know that the police are a very important component of democracy. Without security, there can be no democracy. That is why it behoves us to have a gathering like this so that we can encourage ourselves, train ourselves and teach ourselves what to do before, during, and after the elections.”

The governor urged participants to apply the knowledge gained at the workshop to ensure that the forthcoming elections in the state were peaceful, free, fair, and acceptable to all.

A professor of communication, Chief Fassy Yusuf, who presented the lead paper at the workshop, said elections were a measure of a state’s democratic maturity and institutional resilience.

He submitted that the success of the 2027 general elections in Ogun depended on how effectively the Police led, coordinated and partnered with state agencies, the media, electoral authorities and civil society organisations.

Yusuf recommended that the Ogun Police Command and the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security operationalise provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 by establishing unified command protocols across all 20 local government areas before election day.

Other recommendations included defining the boundaries for sub-national security outfits, institutionalizing early-warning community dialogue, protecting media freedom and ensuring equal coverage, as well as conducting specialized human rights training for security personnel.