The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, on Monday said that no fewer than 31,000 personnel had been deployed to Edo for the Sept 19 governorship election.
Adamu said this at a stakeholders meeting organised in Benin by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the lead-up to the governorship election.
He noted that the Nigeria Police Force was not unconscious of heightened tension and violence that had characterised political campaigns ahead of the election.
The IGP stressed that the police would be impartial, firm, and committed to the conduct of a free, fair and credible election in the state.
Adamu said that the stakeholders’ meeting was a platform for interaction with political actors in the governorship election, with a view to charting a course for a peaceful poll.
He noted that for the first time ever, the security agencies in the state collaborated and developed a code of conduct for the security personnel that would be deployed for election duties.
He said that the personnel deployed to Edo would ensure adequate security and protection across the three senatorial district, 192 wards and over 2,000 polling units of the state.
Adamu warned that those who violated the country’s electoral laws and rules during the election would be decisively dealt with, irrespective of their political affiliation.
He advised parents and guardians to appeal to their children and wards to resist any temptation by unscrupulous politicians to engage them to foment trouble.
He assured the citizens that the police and other security personnel deployed for the election had been educated on the need to be civil while carrying out their duties.
He, however, solicited the cooperation of members of the public in ensuring a peaceful election in the state.
