Presidential Election: 203 Arrested for Electoral Offences in 185 Major Incidents

Presidential Election: 203 Arrested for Electoral Offences in 185 Major Incidents

IGP Baba at the meeting

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, on Monday said that 185 major incidents were responded to by the Police across the country during the February 25th elections, while a total 203 suspects linked to various electoral offences and sundry crimes were arrested.

The IGP disclosed this when he met with Strategic Police Managers comprising Deputy Inspectors-General of Police and members of the Force Management Team, Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, Commissioners of Police, and heads of tactical investigative and operational units of the Force at the Goodluck Jonathan Peacekeeping Hall, Force Headquarters, Abuja.

The meeting was to debrief officers posted for election security management duties and appraise the performance of the Nigeria Police Force at the February 25th Presidential and National Assembly Elections, identify gaps, and perfect the action plan for the forthcoming March 11th elections.

The IGP applauded the high level of resilience, and utmost professionalism displayed by officers and men of the Nigeria Police as well as other security agencies in the course of the election security operations in line with the Reviewed Standard Operational Guidelines and Rules for Police Officers and Other Security Agents on Electoral Duties which was issued to all officers in the countdown to the election operations.

He attributed the professionalism of the officers to the various pre-election trainings, meticulous planning, massive operational assets procurement and deployment, as well as prioritized welfare.

He said that 18 firearms of various calibres were recovered from political thugs during the exercise. He emphasized that the cases are at various stages of investigation at the Nigeria Police Electoral Offences Desks and assured that they will be concluded and processed to the Legal Department of the Independent National Electoral Commission for prosecution.