IGP admits challenges during presidential, NASS polls

AHEAD of state elections on Saturday, heads of security agencies met with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday with the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, noting that there were challenges in the conduct of the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections.

To avoid this in the coming elections, the police boss said arrangements are in place to beef up security especially in areas he referred to as crisis-prone states.

Emerging from the meeting at the presidential villa, Abuja, the IGP told correspondents that everything was being done to ensure that people were able to come out and vote.

He warned that any attempt to disrupt the process as reported in many areas during the previous exercise would not be acceptable to security forces.

Adamu, therefore, warned officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agents not allow themselves to be compromised.

He said: “We’ll like every Nigerian to come out and cast his or her vote. The security arrangement we provided during the presidential elections is being enhanced so as to provide enabling environment for everybody to come out and cast his or her vote for their preferred candidates.

ALSO READ:  Elections: Police IG bans use of unmarked, covered vehicle…

“We will again advise those that will want to disrupt the process to rethink because, during the presidential election, we had some few challenges here and there. We’ll not allow those challenges to repeat themselves. We are taking more security measures to address challenges we noticed.

“So, thuggery again is not allowed, ballot snatching is not allowed, disruption of the election process is not allowed. We, the security personnel have resolved to deal ruthlessly with anybody that attempts to disrupt the process of this election.

“For that reason, we expect that in every state, the conduct of the election should be respected. We expect that electoral materials must not be tampered with, we expect that the INEC officials would do their work without fear or favour and without being allowed to compromise.

“The security personnel are to perform their duties without allowing themselves to be compromised.

“So, we have heightened the security arrangement to make sure that the election goes without any hitch.”

On the alleged militarisation of the elections which discouraged many people to turn out to vote, the IGP assured that all Nigerians must be protected.

He affirmed that from the comments of local and international observers, the exercise was peaceful.

The police boss stated further: “Well, as I said before, the lives of Nigerians are secured in terms of provision of adequate security to come out and vote.

“If you judge what you have said with the report of the international observers and local observers, you will see that both the local and international observers have adjudged the process to be peaceful.

“So, the challenges you get here and there did not affect the peaceful conduct of the elections. The process was peaceful and credible.”

On the number of arrests and possible prosecution of people who violated the electoral laws, he said: “We’ve made a number of arrests all over the country but probably we shall come out with the number of arrests we have made in terms of those that disrupted the process of the election in some areas within the country.

“Virtually, in Bayelsa and other states within that zone, we have taken notice of the fact that people there are prone to violence. So, we have increased the number of security personnel that have been posted there.

“Also, we have increased intelligent outfit that has been posted there so as to help us identify those people that are trying to cause problem so that we can take them out of the environment. Therefore, there is an increase in security personnel.”

He congratulated Nigerians for the peaceful conduct of the last elections as he expressed the readiness of security agencies to perform their role in Saturday’s elections.