•••AS IGP MEETS STRATEGIC POLICE MANAGERS, APPRAISES PRESIDENTIAL, NASS ELECTION SECURITY MANAGEMENT
The Nigeria Police Force said the operatives of the Force on election monitoring duty during the presidential and National Assembly polls on Saturday February 25, arrested 185 electoral offenders on the election day.
The Police revealed that about 185 major incidents were responded to by the Police across the country during the elections.
This was disclosed by the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, on Monday, when he met with Strategic Police Managers, comprising 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 of the Force.
The meeting which took place at the Goodluck Jonathan Peacekeeping Hall, Force Headquarters, Abuja, was for the debriefing and appraising of the officers posted for election security management duties.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, CSP, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said in a statement on Monday that the meeting was to review the performance of the Nigeria Police Force at the February 25th Presidential and National Assembly Elections, identify gaps, and perfect the action plan for the forthcoming March 11th Elections.
According to him, the 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.
IGP revealed further that 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 assures that they would be concluded and processed to the Legal Department of the Independent National Electoral Commission for prosecution.
“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 Inspector-General of Police reiterates 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 our democratic heritage and meet the expectations of the electorates.” He said.
