News Investigators/ The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, says the police will be professional, apolitical and impartial before, during and after the Aug. 15 governorship election in Osun.
Mr Disu made the pledge on Friday in Abuja during a courtesy visit by representatives of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) led by Mr Auwal Rafsajani, the Executive Director, Civil Society legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC).
The CSOs had visited the I-G to deliberate on issues of election security ahead of the Aug. 25 governorship election in Osun.
Mr Disu said the meeting was a reflection of a shared commitment by the Nigeria Police Force and the CSOs to ensure a peaceful, credible, free and fair governorship election in Osun.
Mr Disu said he was aware of the concerns expressed regarding election security, violence, voter intimidation, the activities of thugs and the neutrality of security agencies.
According to him, these concerns are legitimate and deserve to be addressed through dialogue, transparency and practical action.
“I want to assure Nigerians that the Nigeria Police Force has taken these concerns seriously and has put in place comprehensive security arrangements for the election.
“The Nigeria Police Force remains a professional, apolitical and impartial institution.
“We have no candidate, no political party and no vested interest in the outcome of the election other than ensuring that the lawful choice of the people prevails,” he said.
He said all the police officers to be deployed on election duty had been reminded of their constitutional responsibility to uphold the law without fear or favour.
The I-G said the police would provide a secured environment for eligible voter to exercise their constitutional rights freely and without intimidation.
Mr Disu said adequate personnel and operational assets had been deployed ahead of the election across the state.
According to him, intelligence gathering and threat assessments have been intensified to identify and neutralise potential threats before they escalate.
“We are working closely with other members of the InterAgency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), INEC and other relevant stakeholders to ensure effective coordination.
“Anyone found engaging in vote buying, voter intimidation, ballot box snatching, thuggery or any other electoral offence will be dealt with in accordance with the law, irrespective of political affiliation or status,” he said.
The I-G call on political parties, candidates and their supporters to conduct themselves responsibly before, during and after the election, adding that, elections should be contests of ideas and policies, not violence or intimidation.
He said no political ambition was worth the loss of a single Nigerian life and therefore urged political leaders to prevail on their supporters to reject violence and respect the rule of law.
Mr Disu urged the people of Osun to come out peacefully and confidently to cast their votes.
“Do not allow yourselves to be intimidated by rumours, misinformation or the actions of a few individuals who seek to undermine the democratic process.
“Where you observe any suspicious activity or violation of the law, promptly report to the nearest security personnel,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Rafsanjani said the visit was to foster collaborate with the Nigeria Police Force in the provision of election security and ensuring free fair and credible elections in the country.
He said the CSOs were worried about the political tensions in this country, adding the safety and security of Nigerians during elections are very important.
“Our work as CSOs is to ensure that we support the security agencies to be able to do their work without bias or partiality or anything that will create or erode confidence of Nigerians and international community.
“We believe that with your track record, you will be able to lead this very important national assignment that we are going to have come 2027.
“As CSOs, we have met, discussed, and have come up with some key important recommendations and suggestions to have free, fair, credible election that is free of violence, free of rancour,” he said.
He said the recommendations and suggestions were could be achieved with the support of the various agencies and institutions.
Samson Itodo, the Executive Director, Yiaga Africa, said the CSOs had independently monitored development around Osun governorship election over the past months.
“Whether it is incident tracking or public perception surveys or pre-election observation, we have consolidated some of the findings.
“We have also collected evidence from these different methodologies deployed to observe the pre-election environment.
“Our purpose here today is to share principal election security risks that are emerging from our observation and building up to the Osun elections,” he said.
He said the Osun election was important because it would mirror the 2027 general election.
“Therefore, it has a lot of significance. It is a unique opportunity to inspire public trust, not just in the management of the election, but in election security,” he said.
He said the electorate would want to see institutions demonstrate neutrality so they could have confidence in them.
He said the neutrality of the police and other security agencies was of particular concern to the public.
NAN