The Inspector
General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has said a total of 21,084
policemen and three police helicopters will be deployed for the November
18 gubernatorial election in Anambra State...
Idris, who said this while speaking
yesterday at the 2nd Situation Room Dialogue Session organized by the
Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), stated that no group under any
guise would be allowed to disrupt or cause violence before, during and
after the election.
He said the police headquarters will
provide additional 300 vehicles to add to the Anambra command’s 80
operational vehicles, adding that gunboats for the marine police to man
the waterways at Onitsha, Aguleri and Nzam have been provided.
Idris said for the purpose of a
successful election, the riverine areas would be manned by the marine
police and Nigerian Navy while all exit/entry points, including border
areas would be manned by the Police Mobile Force personnel and Nigerian
Army.
He said the Anambra command has been
directed to liaise with community leaders such as Ohaneze Ndigbo to
prevail on the indigenes not to be used to disrupt the election or
disturb public peace and law and order.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of
PLAC, Clement Nwankwo, has urged the police to be concerned about the
level of deployment “because sometimes over-policing can also be a
problem.”
Nwankwo said regardless of threats
against the election, civil society organisations believe the election
is vital and every group must realize they must not do anything that
will impede on people’s rights to vote and be voted for.
He also advised that if the army would
be deployed for the election, it should be at the behest of either the
police or the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), adding
that the army should only be as backup when even deployed.
Meanwhile, the Anambra State
Commissioner of Police, Mr Garba Umar, has advised the people of the
state not to entertain fear during the forthcoming polls, assuring that
all necessary arrangements have been put in place to ensure that the
polls go as scheduled.
Umar, who is the chairman of the
Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Security, also assured the INEC
of its preparedness to assist it to conduct credible, free and fair
polls.
Speaking yesterday during the meeting of
the committee at the INEC headquarters in Awka, the police boss said
the security agencies were determined to ensure that the election was
hitch-free.
Earlier, the Resident Electoral
Commissioner in the state, Dr Nkwachukwu Orji, said the meeting was part
of regular interactions of the commission with security agencies to
fine-tune measures put in place for the forthcoming election.
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