New Commissioner of Police have been deployed to Abia and Benue states ahead of Saturday’s Governorship and House of Assembly Elections.
While Awosola Awotinde has been posted to Abia, Umar Muri replaces Omolulu Bishi who has been reassigned to another duty post.ahead of Saturday’s Governorship and state House of Assembly elections, the command’s spokesman, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, has said.
Ogbonna told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Awotinde, who was in Ebonyi, was swapped with the former Abia CP, Eden Okon, who was also moved to Ebonyi.
He said that the new commissioner assumed duty on Friday morning, after a formal handover from Okon.
He said that the postings were done for the purposes of the elections and appealed to Abia residents to give the new police boss the “necessary cooperation.”
The Deputy Inspector-General of Police overseeing elections in the North Central, Godwin Nwobodo, announced the change at a press conference on Friday in Makurdi.
Bishi spent about six months in charge of the command before his redeployment.
Nwobodo also said not more than 7,480 personnel from various security services had been drafted for election duties in the state.
“Furthermore, a total number of five Commissioners, four Deputy Commissioners (DCPs) and two Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) are already in the state to man strategic senatorial districts and local government areas identified as flash-points. These deployments are friendly, proactive and do not aim at any person or group,” he said.
He said the officers were specifically attached to Guma, Logo, Ukum, Agatu, Gwer West, Gwer East, Okpoku and Katsina-Ala LGAs, while security was generally strengthened across the state.
He said the command was convinced that Benue people were ready for the polls.
Nwobodo, however, appealed to politicians not to see elections as a do-or-die affair, but as a democratic means of enthroning good leadership.
“Credible elections enthrone good governance and good governance serves the greater good for the citizens. Election should therefore, not be a do -or-die affair. As security agencies, we have a responsibility to police the rules and regulations set out by INEC.
“These sets of rules and regulations are provided for in the Nigeria Constitution, the Electoral Act, INEC Guidelines/ Regulations and all other extant laws, ” he said.
He said that no form of violence, thuggery, voter intimidation, vote buying, brigandage, bearing arms/weapons and other offensive conducts would be tolerated in the state.