The Deputy Inspector General of Police on Election Duty in the six North East States, Mr. Ali Janga, has charged police officers in the zone to be vigilant during the March 11, 2023 Governorship and State Assembly Elections, so as to prevent election results being tampered with.
Speaking with senior officers of the Gombe State Police Command, headed by the Commissioner of Police, Gombe State, CP Oqua Etim, DIG Janga said it had become necessary for the police to be vigilant because of the possibility of some election officials to change the results of elections.
“During the collation, a lot of things are happening. Hoodlums may decide to invade the venue and disrupt the process. There is the possibility of election officials changing the results, colluding with politicians to change the results. So, we need to be very, very careful. We should open our eyes, the ears need to be on the ground to ensure that the right thing is done by the police,” DIG Janga said.
He warned the police against interfering in the election process, but that they should provide the enabling environment for peaceful conduct of the elections, using the Police Guidelines pamphlet on election duties, so that they would be conversant with the various election offences.
DIG Janga, however, told them to contact their superior officers during any eventuality, while keeping all records of incidents in their pocket notebooks, which should be handy at all times.
“Should in case there is any litigation. You know, sometimes they call the police to come and give evidence. We cannot do that without expressed permission of the Inspector General of Police. So, record all what you see there,” Mr. Janga said.
He said the police should be on the lookout for politicians who may hide under the guise of observing elections, which was not part of their role to monitor or observe the election process.
Overall, the DIG urged the police to take charge of their polling units, while the Divisional Police Officers, DPOs, should take charge of all collation centres, especially at the local government, while the Commissioners of Police should take charge of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s State Office.
“DPOs will be charge of all the collation centres, more especially the local government collation centres. Results will be collated at the ward level, they move to the local government level, they move to the state capital, where the CP will take charge,” DIG Janga said.
He said DPOs and Area Commands should ensure that they had a Standby Unit for prompt response, in case of eventualities.
Mr. Janga urged the Nigeria police to keep up with the tempo exhibited during the February 25 elections, which was commended by both local and international observers, charging them to enforce the code on the restriction of movement, so as to make it easy for the police to manage crowds at polling centres.
N.O
