The Kogi State Police Command has said it has deployed over 7,000 policemen including operatives of other security agencies across the state, to monitor and provide security for the 2023 general elections.
The newly deployed Police Commissioner, Mr Yekini Ayogu, who spoke with New Telegraph, said the deployment is equally to ensure that voters cast their ballots in a peaceful and conducive atmosphere.
According to him, flashpoint areas in the state, have been identified and dominated by the police and other security operatives to forestall peace, during and after the exercise.
“We are working with other security agencies and leading them to secure and police this election.”
“We are very much aware that this election is very much critical to the democratic health of our nation.”
“This is why we are working strictly in tandem with the mandate given to us by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alkali Baba Usman CFR, that we should create a conducive security environment for eligible voters to cast their votes freely without molestation.”
“He has also directed us to police the state against agents of destabilisation who might want to disrupt the elections.”
“We assure those people that we have the will and capacity to deal with them and that if they venture to commit any act that would negatively affect the conduct of the elections they will also be disrupted.”
“They will meet their waterloo and just like the CDS (Chief of Defence Staff) said, they will be given bloody noses. We are ready and we are gearing to go.”
“As I speak with you, yesterday under very tight security escort all the sensitive and non-sensitive materials of INEC have been taken from the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) headquarters in Lokoja to the various local government headquarters for onward distribution to the RACs and polling units early tomorrow (Saturday) morning.
“We have secured all the INEC offices and we have come out with our operational orders, and deployed our men – at least two security operatives – per polling unit. We have teams that would be going around to take care of any exigencies.
“We are working in close collaboration too with the military who are giving us cover at the outer cordon and the intelligence agencies like DSS, DIA and, NIA are also there to provide intelligence for us to work on.
“I can assure you that in Kogi State, elections will go on freely and without any hitch.”
The police in Kogi State yesterday vowed to give those who may be planning to disrupt Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state a “bloody nose.”
The Commissioner of Police (CP), Kaduna State Command, Yekini Ayoku, who led three other CPs to the state for election security management gave this indication while answering questions from The Nation in Lokoja.
He said that the Force in collaboration with other security agencies is prepared to ensure a hitch-free electoral exercise in the state.
On what the police are doing to adequately secure some flash points in Kogi state that may threaten the peaceful conduct of the elections, Ayoku said: “We have done our threat analysis and we have crime-mapped the state and to enhance the security and integrity of this election, the Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba Usman had to deployed seasoned and experienced officers from all over the country led by an AIG, AIG Egbetokun, to come to this command to ensure that everything goes on well in the security aspect of the election.
“So, from the threat analysis that we have conducted, we are clear about areas we are expecting some little problems and we make sure we dominate those areas to ensure that nothing adverse happens during the process.”
On the number of security operatives deployed for election in the state, the lead CP said: “Just like I told you, we have two security operatives per polling unit and in Kogi State, we have a total of 3,508 polling units.
“We have complements of other security agencies assisting us and we have men that the IGP has deployed from headquarters to argument our strength here.
“So we are talking of police and other security agencies in the neighbourhood of 7,000.”
Also yesterday, the Head of the Department, of Voter Education of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Kogi State, Mr Haliru Haruna Sule said the electoral management body is ready for the election.
Sule who disclosed this during a brief interview with The Nation in Lokoja, said all sensitive and non-sensitive election materials have been successfully and safely delivered to designated points at the local government headquarters, from where they will be taken to the various polling units today (Saturday).
