From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Nigeria Police Force, yesterday, reiterated its determination to dislodge regional security outfits during the general elections.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who stated this during an election security briefing organized by PRNigeria in Abuja, added that the Force and other security agencies would take charge and deliver on the mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“So we are working together, to have proper security for elections. The Military is coming in to support us but there will be no provision for private security outfits.
“We believe that if we have proper restrictions on the movement we are 80 percent successful in that election. The movement will be restricted in and out of the states, even those that have immunity are not expected to move out so you will not move out during elections.
“The second thing is that there will be security at the polling units to give cover to those voting. We have designed it and the federal government is trying that all officers on the streets are given allowances and even food so that no politician will be able to tempt them to do their bidding. The IGP is working hard to ensure officers and men are well taken care of.
“I want to tell Nigerians to take it from us and we will make sure we have a secure election. We will be out there to maintain the peace and not to harass anyone,” he added.
While presenting PRNigeria‘s report, Lead Speaker and Deputy Editor, Abdulsalam Mahmud, explained that the Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT), Analysis of the major presidential candidates in the elections were carried out to ensure that relevant security agencies are informed about the profiles of frontline candidates.
“As part of PRNigeria‘s commitment to helping entrench Nigeria’s democratic space, through in-depth analysis of socio-economic issues and political events shaping the 2023 polls, we recently undertook a field trip to some States, across the country.
“The research study also identified States across the federation where political violence may erupt if proactive measures are not taken by security agencies and other relevant stakeholders,” he said.
Also, Co-presenter, of the report, Mukhtar Madobi, said that the partisan projections have heightened public anxiety and influenced extreme optimism among candidates and their supporters, which could undermine national security
Madobi, added that due to naira scarcity, the plebiscite might witness cashless vote-buying in which electorate would have free tickets after voting to obtain goods and services from retailing outlets.
According to him, the report exposed ethnocentric and religious sentiments in political campaigns which has created fear of potential violence during the exercise.