By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu has vowed to hunt down trouble makers in February polls.
Speaking yesterday while in a meeting with Deputy Commissioners of Police of Operations in Abuja, the IGP said the approach of engaging strategic actors both within the Nigeria Police Force and across the country, “is in line with my determined effort to galvanise all stakeholders towards ensuring optimal professional performance of the Nigeria Police. It is also designed to guarantee the delivery of a peaceful, secure and credible general elections in line with the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“It pertinent to mention that the past two weeks of my appointment as Acting Inspector General of Police have been committed to engaging strategic stakeholders towards defining new pathways that will ensure quality security service delivery by the Police as well as guarantee a credible electoral outcome.
“In this process, I have met with the National Security Adviser and the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES). I have also engaged the Nigeria Civil Society Election Situation Room, a cross section of Traditional Rulers and a delegation comprising of Ambassadors of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the European Union among others”.
He said yesterday’s meeting was convened as part of a broad engagement initiative to discuss, evaluate, and perfect the election security plans of the Police in the most inclusive manner.
Adamu said the police will also review the national security threat assessment report as received from different security sources and evolve pathways towards mitigating them ahead of the elections.
“Senior officers, ladies and gentlemen, by virtue of the provisions of the Constitution, Electoral Act, and other relevant statutes, the Police are the lead agency not just in the electoral process but in internal security management in Nigeria. It is for this reason that the citizens and indeed, the international community are looking up to the Nigeria Police to secure the public space well enough to give the electorates the confidence and freedom to freely exercise their electoral rights.
“This expectation is legitimate and the responsibility for meeting it is that of the entire officers of the Nigeria Police, particularly, the Commissioners of Police ably assisted by you, the Heads of police operations across all Police Commands who are here seated. It is in cognisance of your critical roles that I summon you for this meeting today.
“The Nigeria Police under my leadership recognises that the credibility of the electoral process is key to the strengthening of our democratic credentials, national security and global perception and respect. We are conscious of our critical roles in this process and are determined more than ever before to perform these roles within the dictates of the law and with due respect to citizens’ rights.”
He further urged the officers to corporate with the electoral umpire to ensure transparency of the polls.
