The Police Service Commission (PSC) says every police officer deployed for election duties must be on uniform with their names and numbers visible.
The Commissioner representing South East Zone and the Organised Private Sector in the commission, Chief Nkemka Jombo-Ofo said this on Tuesday while briefing newsmen in Enugu.
Jombo-Ofo said that the directive was for easy identification of police officers by voters, monitors, observers and other stakeholders in the election process.
The commissioner urged voters and other stakeholders to hold police officers accountable for their actions that constitute threat for a credible election and report same to the PSC.
He said that Nigerians would be provided with hotlines with which to report any erring police officer during the exercise.
He said that the PSC would have a situation room in the South East where all reports would be directed during the polls.
“The use of force by any police officer on election duty is a very serious matter. Any such incident must be promptly documented and reported to a superior officer.
“The PSC will investigate and take appropriate actions on every incident of reported use of force by officers on election duty,” he said.
Jombo-Ofo said that police officers were also expected to handle every situation with maturity, caution and must strive to be fair to all.
He said that President Muhammadu Buhari had given the mandate that every Nigerian must be allowed to vote freely without inducement.
He said that commissioners of police in the various states would be moved to serve outside their station prior to the elections, adding that such deployments would not be permanent.
Jombo-Ofo called on Nigerians to collaborate with the PSC to ensure that police officers performed their roles in the best professional way.
“The Nigeria Police Force is the largest and leading agency providing 85 per cent of security personnel for the forthcoming elections.
“The PSC is, therefore, interested in how the police conduct themselves in this all-important act in ensuring the credibility of the process.
“We shall deploy monitors which will be in sync with other deployments during the polls,” Jombo-Ofo said. (NAN)
