The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has disclosed that it arrested 203 offenders linked to various electoral offences and sundry crimes during the Presidential and National Assembly elections that took place on February 25, 2023.
The Police said that it responded to a total of 185 major incidents across the country, and recovered 18 firearms of various calibres from political thugs during the exercise.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba made this known on Monday during a meeting for the appraisal of security management of the Presidential and National Assembly elections with Strategic Police Managers at the Goodluck Jonathan Peacekeeping Hall, Force Headquarters, Abuja.
This comprises of Deputy Inspectors-General of Police and members of the Force Management Team, Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, Commissioners of Police, and heads of tactical investigative and operational units of the Force.
The meeting was to debrief officers posted for election security management duties and appraise the performance of the NPF and to also identify gaps, and perfect the action plan for the forthcoming election on March 11, 2023.
On those apprehended, IGP Baba emphasised that the cases are at various stages of investigation at the Police Electoral Offences Desks and assured that they will be concluded and processed to the Legal Department of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for prosecution.
He applauded the high level of resilience, and utmost professionalism displayed by Officers and men of the Force as well as other security agencies in the course of the election security operations in line with the Reviewed Standard Operational Guidelines and Rules for Police Officers and Other Security Agents on Electoral Duties which was issued to all officers in the countdown to the election operations.
The Police boss attributed the professionalism of the officers to the various pre-election training, meticulous planning, massive operational assets procurement and deployment, as well as prioritised welfare.
IGP Baba reiterated that the Nigeria Police is committed to evolving pathways to incrementally strengthen the Force’s operational capacity and professional knowledge in navigating through the complex electoral process dynamics to police the democratic heritage and meet the expectations of electorates.
