The Defence Headquarters and the Nigeria Police Force have assured Nigerians of peaceful elections in the South-East and North-West regions, among others, in 2023 despite a recent comment by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, that insecurity may hamper elections in the two regions.
The Force spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said in an interview with our correspondent that contrary to the INEC boss comment, a threat analysis carried out by the police in the South-East and the North-West regions turned out negative.
He said, “So far, our threat analysis does not indicate anything negative in both regions and everywhere else in the country. Elections will be held in every region and every state across the length and breadth of Nigeria. Also, the Interagency Consultative Committee on Election Security, co-chaired by the IG and the INEC chairman, has been holding meetings and everything is fine.
“We are also working with the military and other security agencies. And we give an assurance that elections will hold in every community, every polling unit and every ward. We’ll also ensure that every polling unit gets adequate police presence for peaceful, free, fair, credible and acceptable elections.”
During a press conference at the Force Headquarters on Friday on the imperative of police strategic plan for peaceful elections, Adejobi said it was part of the Inspector-General of Police’s continuing effort to adequately prepare officers and men of the force to play a more effective and efficient role in the management of security during the general elections in 2023.
Adejobi noted that the IG, Usman Baba, was set to bequeath to the nation a policing system that was citizen-centred and technology-based, and whose officers protect with courage and serve with compassion.
He submitted that the IG, understanding the risk associated with organised crime syndicates running amok, inaugurated a special operational action plan code-named, ‘Operation Restore Peace’, for the stabilisation of security order in the South-East geopolitical zone of the country.
Similarly, the Director of Defence Information of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Major General Jimmy Akpor, explained that the armed forces had been able to decimate non-state actors across the country, especially terrorists and bandits in the North-West and unknown gunmen in the South-East regions.
He added that the military would intensify its efforts.
Akpor said, “Nigerians know the role we’ve been playing to keep the environment safe even now, and the Nigerian Armed Forces will continue playing this role of decimating terrorists, bandits and other non-state actors, including those in the North-West and the South-East regions. Whether there’s a forthcoming election or not, we will not shy away from our responsibilities.
“However, everyone can see the activities that we’re carrying out in the North-West and the South-East in order to keep the citizens and the environment safe, and this is for socio-economic activities to thrive and for people to live peacefully. Successes are being recorded everywhere against terrorists and other criminals. So, the military will continue to fight these non-state actors to make sure that the environment is safe at all times.”
The spokesman for the Nigerian Navy, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, said that the navy would continue to secure the country’s maritime space to protect critical infrastructure, among others.
He said, “The navy will continue to secure maritime space, whether during elections or not, as we’re doing now. These are our primary areas of operation – the maritime space, which includes coastal waters, the backwaters, creeks in the Niger Delta and riverside states – and some land operations, where we play support roles to the Nigerian Army.
“As for the forthcoming elections, in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, whose duty it is to secure elections, essentially, our role is to carry out patrols in the maritime space to ensure that the territorial integrity of the nation through the maritime space is not breached during those periods of the election. It entails a lot of things, not just the presence out there on patrol, but a lot of covert and overt operations and synergy with the lead agency.”
The naval spokesperson noted that elections were not supposed to be militarised, adding that it was the responsibility of the police to ensure election security.
The Director, Public Relations, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Olusola Odumosu, said the corps would work in tandem with the police and other security agencies to ensure security during elections in 2023.
He said, “The Commandant-General of the NSCDC, Dr Ahmed Audi, is an ardent believer in the unity and progress of this country and he believes that synergy and cooperation among security agencies is the only way to achieve national security because “no singular agency has the monopoly of strategy to overcome security challenges.
“As a member of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, the corps will join forces with the police and other security agencies and stakeholders in ensuring the security and safety of the citizens, INEC officials, sensitive and non-sensitive election materials as well as critical national assets and infrastructure during the 2023 general elections.”
Odumosu noted that officers and men of the NSCDC across the country were currently undergoing various strategic training, workshops and conferences towards achieving the best for Nigeria next year.
“In addition, the way we are working with the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security and law enforcement agencies at the moment, I believe that those pockets of threats and security challenges in the areas that INEC has raised concerns about will be surmounted before the election year,” he added.
