…Force will not condone hate speeches during political campaigns
By Dwelleth Morountodun
With few days to the Christmas and New Year festivities, the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, has directed the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGs) and the 36 Commissioners of Police (CPs) to ensure that no roadblock should be mounted anywhere in the country by the Police and any revenue generating agency of government.
According to him all revenue generating agencies have been prohibited by law not to obstruct any road or highway under the guise of collecting revenue.
CPs and AIGs, he also said should ensure visibility of police and crime prevention patrols in their Area of Responsibilities (AOR) throughout the country as this will ensure free and safety movement of passengers nationwide.
He said security threat assessment and deployment of police personnel to flash points and vulnerable areas have been carried out to prevent and nip in the bud any form of inter-party frictions.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Acting DCP, Mr. Jimoh Moshood, the Force Public Relations Officer, in Abuja, added that all political parties are advised to abide by the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and INEC guidelines, urging all parties to play according to the rules.
The IG according to the statement warned AIGs, CPs, senior police officers and other personnel not to engage in political partisanship or bias but to remain focus and provide security for all throughout the period.
He also ordered the implementation of robust and elaborate security arrangement to ensure a hitch-free and adequate security for all political parties in the on-going political rallies and campaigns across the country.
He said: “The comprehensive crime prevention and detection strategies and other operational measures will include the commencement of intensive raids of identified criminal hideouts, black spots and flash points across the Country.”
According to him, the time table and schedule of activities for 2019 General Elections by INEC and the commencement of campaign by political parties for the presidential and national assembly elections took off on 18th November, while the governorship and state houses of assembly elections has been on from 1st December.
The IGP has therefore directed the implementation of a robust and elaborate security arrangement and measures to ensure adequate security and safety for the electioneering campaigns and rallies throughout the Country.
The Force will also not condone hate speeches and criminal defamatory conducts from any individual(s) or group(s) that can cause threat to public peace and safety during the campaigns and beyond, he said.