By Christopher Oji
People of Imo State across the country have commended Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) Frank Mba, as well as officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies for the monumental security mileage achieved in the just concluded off-cycle governorship election held on Saturday, November 11, 2023, in the state.
The commendation came from a cross-section of Imo State residents who spoke with Daily Sun following the release of the election result and declaration of a winner. They were particularly happy that the skepticism that surrounded the election in Imo, where criminal elements masquerading as ‘unknown gunmen’, members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), Eastern Security Network (ESN) and other groups have been holding sway even before the election. But they all became a nullity, courtesy of the combined efforts of the various security agencies.
A private security professional, Mr. Boyson Nwosu, said he was initially scared by the threat of IPoB through social media publications a few days to the election wherein it promised to go after staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who would try to manipulate the election. According to him, “those of us residing and working in Imo State do not take any threat from IPoB with levity as they could go to any length to unleash violence.”
He said: “We were scared that the election may not hold. We are happy that nobody was killed or maimed by non-state actors who were threatening hell in the state. It is interesting that the Nigeria Police Force, as the lead agency in maintaining internal security, law and order, actually took the lead in ensuring that the election was conducted under a peaceful atmosphere that defied all the fears and anxiety that pre-dated the election.
“Days before the election, the average Imo State resident was not quite sure of what would play out on the election day, given the history of electoral violence in previous elections in Nigeria.”
Remarkably, the assurances given by the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, that the police under his leadership would not watch and see lawlessness permeate the country became actualized during the November 11 governorship election in Imo State.
“For this reason, a good number of Imo State citizens have expressed satisfaction with the role played by the police and other security agencies.
Another resident, Mrs. Ifeoma Uzowulu, told Daily Sun that the role played by the police in particular and other security agencies prior and during the Imo election had given her some hope that, with the security forces in Nigeria, there could be unity across the states of the federation, contrary to the perception in some quarters that Nigerians are divided along ethnic and religious lines. She blamed politicians who occasionally use the police and other agencies to oppress the masses for what she described as their selfish political ambition.
A retired police officer, Mr. Pat Nnadi, paid tribute to Egbetokun and heads of other security agencies for the massive pre-election deployment of personnel and the implementation of all security arrangements. The officer was also satisfied with the way and manner the police in particular reached out to all stakeholders, where consultative meetings with traditional rulers, political party leaders and others were held with civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations and human rights groups, among others, seen as key actors to work towards the success of the election.
Nnadi and Nwosu particularly commended the role played by the coordinating DIG, Mba, who was on hand to implement all security arrangements. Mba personally conducted land and aerial patrols across states in the South East with over 25,000 police personnel deployed across the nooks and crannies of Imo State, in addition to the presence of military and other security agencies.
There was intense police mobilization in almost all the communities in the state under the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES). There was constant patrol, helicopter surveillance over almost all the communities and synergy between the various security agencies was manifest as officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Nigerian Customs Service, etcetera, collaborated with the police, and military to identify black spots, search for illegal firearms and weapons, illegal drugs and so on.
Security arrangements for the protection of local and international observers, media teams and others were also in place and, interestingly, there was no ugly incident as the security agents were equal to the task.
A few days to the governorship election, which also held the same day in Bayelsa and Kogi states, the IGP had announced the provision of sophisticated weapons like armoured personnel carriers, water cannon, trucks and pick-up vehicles, and all these were released by the IGP to boost the operational capability of the police during the election, just as Intelligence management was top-notch.