The Nigerian Police Force is getting set for weekend’s supplementary election taking place in Rivers State.
Not giving any room for mistakes, especially with the volatile situation in the state at the moment, the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, has ordered the AIG in charge of Zone 6, Calabar, Cross River State, Adisa Baba Bolanta, to relocate to Port Harcourt on Monday, March 14, 2016.
This is to prepare him to get familiarised with the state with a view to ensuring he makes the environment conducive for free, fair and credible election.
Arase, in a statement issued by the Force’s spokesperson, ACP Olabisi Kolawole, in Abuja, warned him men “to be apolitical and professional.”
In addition, the IGP disclosed that “three Commissioners of Police have been deployed to supervise security arrangements within the three Senatorial Districts – Rivers East, Rivers West and Rivers South East, respectively.”
He added that “6000 conventional Policemen and 14 Units of Police Mobile Force personnel (MOPOL) would be deployed to compliment the personnel of Rivers State Command during the election.”
It was further disclosed that the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Department of Operations, DIG Sontoye Wakama, has also been directed to proceed to Rivers immediately to hold meetings with stakeholders and Police officers in the State Command on the need for peaceful conduct before, during and after the election.
Arase, while assuring the law-abiding electorates of a secure and enabling environment to exercise their franchise, warns all security details to desist from accompanying their principals and politicians to polling booths and collation centres during the election.
He emphasizes that only security personnel specially assigned for election duties must be seen within and around the election designated places.
The rerun in Rivers State is expected to hold on Saturday, March 19, 2016.
