Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Baba, disclosed that operatives of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) arrested over 700 persons for violation of electoral laws during the 2023 general elections.
IGP Baba made this known, Monday, during a meeting with Strategic Police Managers of the Nigeria Police Force comprising Deputy Inspectors-General of Police (DIGs) and members of the Force Management Team, Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs), Commissioners of Police (CPs) and other Tactical Commanders at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
According to the police boss, 185 cases of electoral infractions were recorded during the Presidential and National Assembly elections with 203 arrests made.
The IGP said the meeting was critical in the face of the threats to national security by some political actors who have been trying to undermine the peace of the country after the elections as well as to to evaluate Police performance during the elections, highlight lessons and strengths, and chart the path for the future.
He commended senior police officers and commanders and other ranks for their resilience, sacrifices, and professionalism which ensured the containment of the pockets of election security breaches across the country during the electioneering process and enhanced the overall credibility of the elections in line with the police reform initiatives of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The police boss assured of effective collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to expeditiously prosecute the 781 electoral offenders apprehended from a total of 489 major electoral infractions across the nation, as all Commands were tasked with submitting casefiles centrally at the Electoral Offences Desk, Office of the IGP, Force Headquarters, Abuja, for coordinated processing to INEC Legal
IGP Baba, who charged the Strategic Police Managers to readjust strategies and operations towards ensuring a stable post-election security order and refocus policing attention on routine law enforcement duties.
Similarly, the policw boss firmly admonished all political actors and their supporters to submit to democratic norms, peaceful means, and legal procedures in advancing their interests as the Police and other security agencies shall not tolerate the resort to incitement or any act designed to threaten our national security.
He also condemned the action of the political actors who are engaged in ethnic profiling in advancing their interests and urged Nigerians to rather strive towards unity.
