By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Amidst growing reports of violence and attacks on campaigners at political rallies across Nigeria, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali-Baba has vowed that the Nigerian Police Force is favourably disposed to using both kinetics and non-kinetic methods to tackle the menace to ensure that the 2023 general elections hold in Nigeria peacefully.
This is even as he said the Police high command is fully ready to deal with election violence in accordance with the Provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, adding that the Police authorities have recently held a week-long workshop in Owerri, the Imo state capital, to educate men and women in the force on the Electoral Act as it concerns election violence.
Prompt News Online reports that Alkali-Baba who spoke at the 57th Session of the State House Briefing held at Presidential Villa Abuja on Thursday, November 10, 2022, said Police knows its duties as enshrined in the Electoral Act 2022.
Said he: “We (Police) know our duties/powers in the Electoral Act and we will continue to engage our personnel as to how we can effectively use those powers to checkmate those acts especially those that will lead to election violence and ensure that the electioneering period goes without hindrances”.
“We have told you earlier that we are educating our Officers to know their roles as enshrined in the Electoral Act. Sometimes when the Electoral Act is saying how; for instance how Police will be involved in the election, there is no where it said you can carry sticks to go and regulate and checkmate those who are inciting electoral violence but at same time you have to hold some arms to checkmate those who are even saying that elections will not even take place.
“So in that instance you even have to divide your personnel, those who will regulate the conduct of persons who want to exercise their franchise and those who are saying that even election is not going to hold”.
Speaking further the Police boss said: “For instance in the South East where the IPOB is saying that election will not hold in the area. This one they are not even saying anything about the election, so we need to checkmate that and this one you are not going to checkmate by carrying sticks to ask them to go and comply. So it needs two types of processing to understand what they are up to, so this is where we are”.
Alkali-Baba however said that the Police authorities have every side covered to ensure a smooth election in Nigeria next year, pointing out that there is nothing to fear by Nigerians and none citizens.
“So our great analysis / assessment has given us lead to see how we are going to Police these areas to ensure that elections take place”, he assured.
On the Police involvement in election duties he said: “on our responsibility as given to us by the Constitution, as given to us by the Electoral Act, we are ready to see that we do our work well. But in terms of the question on if we can invite other security agencies to help in election duties, yes in the coming elections as a lead agency, every other security agencies have been invited to help.
But for now campaigns and rallies are being policed and once we are informed of any rally we see how we can provide security”.
On the alleged attack on PDP rally in Maiduguri Borno state on Wednesday, the IGP said investigation is on going, pointing out that the PPRO in Borno may not have enough facts to speak on the matter.
Said he:”What happened in Borno has happened and the assessment is ongoing. The State PPRO may not be completely conclusive on reacting to what happened. I think we have a total team to assess what has actually happened based on various presentations that have been partly from APC, from PDP and from Police”.
“So need to have more exploration on what happened like it has also happened in Kaduna, Kwara and even Lagos state. I think we need to wait for the conclusion of the investigations”, the IGP concluded.
Meanwhile, Prompt News Online reports that Alkali- Baba, had during the briefing provided key updates on the plans put in place by him and the Nigerian Police to maintain stable internal security in Nigeria, while spotlighting the key strides made so far on the key issue of reforms in the Nigerian Police.
Commenting on the activities of security outfits formed by state governments particularly Ebube Agu in Ebonyi, he said: “we have on many occasions checkmate their highhandedness by arresting and investigating those who are actually gone out of their way to commit crime and we have charged them to court”.
“There is no way we can allow it, if we can charge our personnel for high handedness and other activities, there is nobody who is going to be exempted, if there is any specific case that the police has not gone into in the case of those kinds of outfits you may mention, but to the best of our knowledge, you cannot avoid it, theory and practice might differ.
“You may tell them this is your responsibility. This is how it’s supposed to be done but still either because of primordial loyalty or because of inducement or because of whatever, some people go out of their way to do the wrong thing and if they are caught, they will be charged”.
He also said: “And that’s why most of the time, if these outfits are created by governors, we are invited to educate them on the extent of their engagement in crime prevention and control. We are checkmating them they are also good. They are bad and the ugly”.
