IGP deploys senior officers, orders movement restriction ahead of by-elections
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has deployed senior officers and tactical units to 13 states ahead of Saturday’s by-elections to ensure a smooth and hitch-free exercise.
The deployment includes Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs) and Commissioners of Police, who will assist state police commissioners in supervising the elections. Officers from the Police Mobile Force, Special Intervention Squad, Force Intelligence Department, and other tactical units have also been mobilised to the affected states.
In a statement signed by Force Public Relations Officer Olumuyiwa Ogunjobi, the IGP also ordered a restriction of vehicular movement on roads, waterways, and other means of transportation within affected local government areas from 12 am to 6 pm on election day. Exemptions apply to essential service providers, including Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, accredited journalists, election observers, ambulances on emergencies, and firefighters.
Security aides to VIPs and escorts have been barred from accompanying their principals to polling units and collation centres, while state-owned and privately-run security outfits will not be allowed to participate in election security management.
Egbetokun urged officers to comply with the Nigeria Police Force’s standard operational protocols for elections and called on citizens to be law-abiding during and after the polls. He assured that adequate measures had been put in place to protect voters’ rights.
INEC said the by-elections will be conducted in 16 constituencies across 12 states, covering two senatorial districts in Anambra and Edo, five federal constituencies in Edo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Ogun, and Oyo, and nine state constituencies in Adamawa, Anambra, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Niger, Taraba, and Zamfara.
