By Kola Adeyemi
#TrackNigeria: Kogi State Police Command said it had carried out a review of its operational capacity to enable it provide adequate security of lives and property before, during and after the general elections.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP William Aya, made this known in Lokoja on Tuesday.
Aya said that the review exercise was at the instance of the state police Commissioner, Mr Hakeem Busari.
In line with this, he said that the command had come up with new measures on how to tackle thuggery and other forms of electoral violence.
“Security threat assessment and deployment of police personnel to flash points and vulnerable areas have been carried out,’’ the spokesman said in a statement.
He said that this would help to prevent and nip in the bud any form of inter-party frictions, political thuggery and clashes that could lead to disturbance of public peace anywhere in the state.
Aya advised all political parties to abide by the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and INEC guidelines and play the game according to the rules.
He said that the command had also commenced implementation of a robust and elaborate security arrangement to ensure adequate security for all candidates and their parties.
“Adequate deployment of security personnel to cover all the 239 wards of the 21 local government areas of the state have been carried out,’’ Aya said.
He said that the command had commenced intensive raids of identified criminal hideouts, black spots and flash points across the state.
“Parents and guardians, traditional, religious leaders, public office holders are hereby implored to monitor their children, wards, subjects to be law abiding and resist any attempt to be used to cause disturbance of public peace and violation of law and order before, during and after the general election,’’ Aya said.
He, however, assured the residents that men and officers of the command had been directed to be polite, civil but strict in the performance of their duties. With reports by (NAN)
