The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has
said a total of 21,084 policemen and three police helicopters will be deployed
for the November 18 gubernatorial election in Anambra State.
Idris, who said this while speaking yesterday at the 2nd
Situation Room Dialogue Session organized by the Policy and Legal Advocacy
Centre (PLAC), stated that no group under any guise would be allowed to disrupt
or cause violence before, during and after the election.
He said the police headquarters will provide additional 300
vehicles to add to the Anambra command’s 80 operational vehicles, adding that
gunboats for the marine police to man the waterways at Onitsha, Aguleri and
Nzam have been provided.
Idris said for the purpose of a successful election, the
riverine areas would be manned by the marine police and Nigerian Navy while all
exit/entry points, including border areas would be manned by the
Police Mobile
Force personnel and Nigerian Army.
He said the Anambra command has been directed to liaise with
community leaders such as Ohaneze Ndigbo to prevail on the indigenes not to be
used to disrupt the election or disturb public peace and law and order.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of PLAC, Clement Nwankwo,
has urged the police to be concerned about the level of deployment “because
sometimes over-policing can also be a problem.”
Nwankwo said regardless of threats against the election,
civil society organisations believe the election is vital and every group must
realize they must not do anything that will impede on people’s rights to vote
and be voted for.
He also advised that if the army would be deployed for the
election, it should be at the behest of either the police or the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC), adding that the army should only be as
backup when even deployed.
Meanwhile, the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr
Garba Umar, has advised the people of the state not to entertain fear during
the forthcoming polls, assuring that all necessary arrangements have been put
in place to ensure that the polls go as scheduled.
Umar, who is the chairman of the Inter-Agency Consultative
Committee on Security, also assured the INEC of its preparedness to assist it
to conduct credible, free and fair polls.
Speaking yesterday during the meeting of the committee at
the INEC headquarters in Awka, the police boss said the security agencies were
determined to ensure that the election was hitch-free.
Earlier, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state,
Dr Nkwachukwu Orji, said the meeting was part of regular interactions of the
commission with security agencies to fine-tune measures put in place for the
forthcoming election.
By Clement A. Oloyede & Emma Elekwa
