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From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has maintained that the Nigeria Police Force acted professionally in the recent political crisis in Rivers State as a professional organisation.
He said that but for the quick intervention of the force, the political crisis in the just concluded local government elections would have resulted in the loss of several lives and destruction of properties worth billions of naira.
The IGP, made this known during his meeting with senior police officers in Abuja.
Fielding questions from journalists during the conference, the IGP, while noting that the crisis was avoidable in the first instance, however, said that the police stood by the side of the law.
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He said, “On the crisis in Rivers State, the police did not do anything wrong; they were preparing for the local government elections, and we were waiting when a Federal High Court barred the police from participating in the election, and a counter-order came from the high court that the police should participate in the election.
“We have to pass the two orders to our legal department, which advised that the police should stay off as ordered by the Federal High Court, and we have to withdraw from further participation.
“Then the Commissioner of Police in the state informed me that the state governor had deployed police personnel from the Government House to the Secretariat of the State Electoral Commission with the aim of going ahead with the local government polls, and then we have gotten intelligence reports about plans to cause crises, and then we have to deploy personnel from the command to take charge of the place.
“Then, the elections took place, and those elected were sworn in, and the police had to unseal the local government secretariats to allow the newly elected officials to assume duties.
“If we are to remain there after the elected officials were sworn in, the police would have been accused of taking sides, we vacated the secretariats and then crises erupted; we have to return back to restore peace on the orders of Mr President to restore peace in the state,” the IGP said.
