Ahead of Lagos LG Elections: IGP Egbetokun deploys personnel, anti-riot units • CP Jimoh assures residents of adequate security
By Trek Africa Newspaper
Ahead of the Local Government Elections in Lagos State, the Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Moshood Jimoh has advised all security outfits not part of the Interagency Consultative Committee on Election Security to stay at home as they would not be allowed to perform such duties, National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP can report.
He gave the admonition on Wednesday at the command headquarters in Ikeja while giving an update on security arrangements for the elections, stating that the command would announce if there would be restrictions on movement.
He said, “All the other agencies that are not federal government agencies will not be allowed to participate in the security of this election.
“We want you to get it across to them that the police and other security and safety agencies under what we call the Interagency Consultative Committee on Election Security are strictly those that provide security for the election.
“So any quasi/local security organisation should know that they shouldn’t come out on the day of the election. If they have any concerns, they should send them to us.”
The police chief said threat assessments had been conducted, areas of possible hiccups identified, and deployments made to cater to them.
CP Jimoh assured residents that security preparations have reached an advanced stage, adding that the Inspector General of Police, IGP Olukayode Egbetokun has ordered the deployment of more personnel and equipment from neighbouring states to Lagos for the purpose of the polls.
He explained that the police and sister security agencies have been meeting to fine-tune their three-stage plans, which encompass pre, during and post-election security.
At the moment, CP Jimoh said there had been no flashpoints or incidents of concern as the various political parties were out in the streets campaigning for voters.
He said: “We have been meeting for several days with the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) and we have fine-tuned all the arrangements to ensure that we have a peaceful and free and fair local government election throughout the 20 local government areas and the 37 LCD areas.
“As I speak with you, the operation order is out, the deployment of our personnel are equally out and aside from that, the IGP has approved additional deployment to us from neighbouring states. I won’t reveal the number to you but it is significant and in thousands. He didn’t only give us the personnel, he also deployed equipment including anti-riot assets to add to what we have on ground in Lagos.
“We also brought together other federal security and safety agencies that are part of election security. We’ve had about two meetings in my office, outside the meeting that we had with the State Electoral Commission.
“In these meetings, we have detailed all areas to be covered and equally ensured that we have enough deployments to reach the nook and cranny of the state.
“Although there have been no issues so far, we are not leaving anything to chance, and that is why we are receiving more deployments from outside the state to ensure the required number stipulated by the election guidelines is met,” he said.
For riverine areas, CP Jimoh said Marine Police operatives had been mobilised to ensure proper patrol of the waterways and protection of coastal communities.
“We have riverine communities in urban and rural areas in Lagos. So, all these major areas have been properly taken care of. We are equally aware that over six million electorates have collected their PVCs and they are all encouraged to go out and cast their votes for candidates of their choice. Security is guaranteed for them.
“We are aware that there may not be problems before or during elections, and it could start post-election, and that is why our plan also runs for one week after the elections. We know that there will be celebrations and over-dramatisation of victory or losses, so we are equally prepared for that.
“So, we are good to go for the election. And we are very bold to let you know that the IGP and the state government have provided all that is needed from manpower to logistics to ensure that we police the election properly.
“This is what we have been doing over the years, and it shouldn’t be a surprise to us. Though it is equally of note that the local government election is the most contentious because this is the election of the grassroots.
“We encourage the players, the stakeholders and others who are participating in the election to play the game according to the rules and be assured that we are here to secure everyone.”
Continuing, the CP said the control room at the command would be operational so that issues could be addressed in real time.
