... Assures Effective ties with INEC for Expeditious, Transparent Prosecution of Electoral Offenders
A total number of four hundred and eighty-nine (489) major electoral offences were reported during the Presidential, National Assembly, Gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly polls with seven hundred and eighty-one (781) arrests made and Sixty-Six (66) firearms recovered.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, made this known on Monday 27th March 2023, when he met with Strategic Police Managers of the Nigeria Police Force comprising Deputy Inspectors-General of Police (DIGs) and members of the Force Management Team, Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs), Commissioners of Police (CPs) and other Tactical Commanders at the Goodluck Jonathan Peacekeeping Hall, Force Headquarters, Abuja.
SpyeTV News reports that the meeting is to evaluate Police performance during the 2023 General elections, highlight lessons and strengths, and dissect complex dynamics for subsequent optimal performance.
Baba said, feedbacks so far received across the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT indicates that a total of four hundred and eighty-nine (489) major electoral infractions leading to the arrest of a total of seven hundred and eighty-one (781) offenders were recorded nationally both during the Presidential and National Assembly Elections and the Governorship and State Assembly Elections, while not less than sixty-six (66) firearms of various descriptions were recovered from electoral adversaries.
He admonished all political actors and their followers to submit to democratic norms, peaceful means, and legal procedure in advancing their interests or seeking redress for their political concerns.
He warned that the Police and other security agencies shall not tolerate the resort to incitement or any act designed to threaten our national security. "They are, therefore, advised in the strongest possible terms, to henceforth, draw back on current attempts to engender tension within the national security space to avoid attracting appropriate law enforcement response", he said.
The Inspector-General of Police, therefore, charged the Strategic Police Managers to readjust strategies and operations towards ensuring a stable post-election security order and refocus policing attention on routine law enforcement duties.
The IGP commended the Senior Police Officers and Commanders and other ranks for their resilience, sacrifices, and professionalism which ensured the containment of the pockets of election security breaches across the country during the electioneering process and enhanced the overall credibility of the elections in line with the police reform initiatives of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Baba assured of effective collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to expeditiously and transparently prosecute the 781 electoral offenders apprehended from a total of 489 major electoral infractions across the nation, as all Commands were tasked with submitting casefiles centrally at the Electoral Offences Desk, Office of the IGP, Force Headquarters, Abuja, for coordinated processing to INEC Legal Section.