Police to deploy 21,084 personnel

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris, on Tuesday, said the force would deploy 21,084 policemen to Anambra for the Nov. 28 governorship election.

Idris made the disclosure at the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room Dialogue session in Abuja.

He said that 17,320 policemen would be deployed to the 4,330 polling units across the state while 280 of them would be deployed to the collation centres.

The inspector-general said 2,484 of the security agents would be deployed to 414 major streets in the state throughout the election period.

He said that the Force Headquarters would provide additional 300 vehicles to the 80 operational vehicles in the Police Command in Anambra.

Idris said that additional police mobile force units had also been deployed to Anambra and other states in the South-East and South-South for the governorship election.

The IGP explained that the deployment was to ensure that criminal elements were removed from the states before the election.

The police boss said that extra security arrangements were being made for some flash and vulnerable points in the state.

He listed the areas to include: Otuocha, Ihiala towns, as well as Onitsha North and Onitsha South Local Government areas.

Others are Achala in Awka North, Ekwulobia in Orumba and Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government Areas respectively.

He said that the deployment would build and increase the confidence of the people of the state in the police and other security agencies to protect them.

“I want to assure you that all necessary manpower and logistics to secure the electorate, electoral officials, monitors, observers and materials have been provided for the command."

Idris said the police commissioner in Anambra had been instructed to carry along the state Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, in the deployment and implementation of security arrangements for the poll.

He said the command had also been directed to work with the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), the Eminent Persons Forum and local associations in the state to ensure peace and order.

He said that there was a need for collaboration and synergy among Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in engendering secured environment for credible elections in the country.

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“These areas of cooperation will be further strengthened towards the 2019 general election and beyond“ he said.

The IGP said that no group under any guise would be allowed to cause violence, before, during and after the election.

He attributed the successes recorded in the Edo and Ondo governorship elections and the National Assembly re-runs in Imo, Kogi and Rivers in 2016, to the support and cooperation of the CSOs.