Tunji Disu, Inspector-General of Police (IGP), says the police will be professional, apolitical and impartial before, during and after the August 15 governorship election in Osun.
Disu spoke on Friday in Abuja during a courtesy visit by
representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs) led by Auwal Rafsajani,
executive director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC).
The CSOs had visited the IGP to deliberate on issues of
election security ahead of the Aug. 25 governorship election in Osun.
According to NAN, 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.
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,” he said.
“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 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 IGP said the police would provide a secure environment
for eligible voters to exercise their constitutional rights freely and without
intimidation.
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 IGP called 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.
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,” he said.
“Where you observe any suspicious activity or violation of
the law, promptly report to the nearest security personnel.”
Earlier, Rafsanjani said the visit was to foster collaboration
with the police 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 that 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,”
he said.
“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 a free, fair, credible
election that is free of violence, free of rancour.”
He said the recommendations and suggestions could be
achieved with the support of the various agencies and institutions.
Samson Itodo, executive director of Yiaga Africa, said the
CSOs had independently monitored developments around the 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,” Itodo said.
“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 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.
Itodo 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.
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