With less than sixteen hours to the Anambra State governorship election, the Nigerian Police force said they have deployed over 28,000 officers to the state to ensure adequate security of lives and property during and after the conduct of the election.
With less than sixteen hours to the Anambra State governorship election, the Nigerian Police force said they have deployed over 28,000 officers to the state to ensure adequate security of lives and property during and after the conduct of the election.
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The impact of the beefed up security presence was visible in many of the big towns in the state. Our correspondent visited Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi, and reported that police officers and other security personnel patrolled major streets and searched numerous vehicles.
In addition, Naval and Air Force personnel have already been deployed to the state for proper monitoring of the election.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of operations, Philemon Leha, confirmed that the Nigerian police had prepared its officers to ensure that adequate security was provided in Anambra.
Mr. Leha, who is also the head of security posted to the state, said police officers had been dispatched to the various parts of the state’s 21 local government areas. He maintained that over 120 police officers had been deployed to each local government area of Anambra state to maintain peace and order during the election.
Mr. Leha added that well trained mobile policemen had been deployed especially to volatile areas where there might be possible threats to the success of the election.
Pressed by SaharaReporters, the police boss declined to disclose the areas he considered volatile. He revealed that Air and Naval officers have been assigned to the state to use helicopters to ensure proper surveillance of the coastal areas.
At the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) near the House of Assembly in Awka, the Anambra State capital, security chiefs and details held lengthy meetings with INEC’s national commissioners as well as the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) supervising the election.
SaharaReporters could not ascertain the reason behind the meetings, but an insider at INEC told our correspondent that the security agencies discussed ways to ensure that ballot boxes were given maximum security as they were transported to polling units and collation centers.
Meanwhile, our correspondent disclosed that many voters in Anambra said they were ready to vote, an indication that voter turnout might be significant. Many voters said they were also prepared to ensure that their votes are properly counted. “I will vote, and I will be there to man the polling unit to make sure that there is no 419 going on,” one voter in Awka said.
Several of the voters said they hope the security officers deployed to the state will live up to their lawful duty by ensuring that all voters are able to cast their votes, and that there is no intimidation of voters in any part of the state.
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