THE Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, has said that the police will build on the successes recorded during the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday, while also focusing on areas that need improvement.
The IGP stated this in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Thursday, while speaking with officers of the state police command, on the preparations for the governorship and House of Assembly elections.
Adamu, who was represented by the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Training and Development, Yakubu Jibrin, urged policemen to work on the lapses recorded during the last election, in order to ensure a more successful governorship election.
“You should know that your presence at polling units made it possible for voters to come out en masse to exercise their electoral rights; you should, however, be at alert to happenings around you and not just sit by at the polling units.
“The incident that happened at a polling unit whereby a voter was shot dead should not repeat itself, as you must work harder to ensure the security of every voter,” the IGP said.
In his remarks, the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 11, Leye Oyebade, said “the IGP was concerned about the issue of security before, during and after the election, and that is why the DIG in-charge of the South West has come again to the region to sensitise policemen on those things expected of them during the electoral assignment.
“The DIG was with us before the presidential and National Assembly election, and we can see the successes recorded, and we know that we will do more in Saturday’s election,” AIG Oyebade said.
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Earlier, the state Commissioner of Police, Shina Olukolu, while addressing policemen, who would be on election duties, said that after reviewing the happenings during the conduct of the last election, the police and other security agencies decided to re-strategise, in order to ensure a more peaceful electoral exercise.
“We have received communication gadgets which will enable people to lodge their complaints to the police authority in the state.”
The police commissioner said further that restriction of movement would also be enforced, while policemen who accompany their principals to the polling units would be sanctioned.
“I, however, assure that policemen will be professional in their conduct during the election, and more policemen have been deployed to the state to ensure we have enough men to police the state,” Olukolu said.
Present at the meeting were representatives of security agencies such as the Nigeria Prison Service, Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, Department of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).