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Linus Aleke in Abuja
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has said that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has put in place all necessary security measures to ensure a peaceful election devoid of any incident.
Egbetokun’s assurance comes as a civil society organisation, under the banner of the CLEEN Foundation, implored armed operatives to use their weapons in strict compliance with the rules governing the handling of firearms in the country.
He charged security agents deployed for the election to adhere strictly to the legal instruments regulating the use of weapons.
Speaking at the unveiling of CLEEN Foundation’s 2025 Governorship Election Security Threat Assessment (STA) for Anambra State, the IGP said: “As far as the police are concerned, I want to assure the general public that we have put all the necessary security measures in place to ensure a peaceful election, devoid of any incident. The police and other security agencies are going to deploy 5,224 police personnel to man 5,178 polling units within Anambra State, and to provide security at the ward, collation centre, local government collation centre, and state collation centre.”
Represented by Commissioner of Police Umar Hadejia, Egbetokun added: “In any operation such as the conduct of elections, the police are expected to plan adequately by designing what we call an Operation Order.:
An Operation Order, he said, outlines the deployment of both human and material resources to ensure the effective and successful conduct of the election.
The Programme Officer at CLEEN Foundation, Dr Salaudeen Hashim, emphasised the need for strict adherence to the rules during the election.
He said: “The government is ensuring that the police and security agents are properly trained before deployment. Because if you use force outside the rules and regulations, you will be held accountable.
“Arms should only be used professionally, when it is necessary and lawful. There are clear rules concerning the use of arms — for example, Force Order 237 is very explicit about how force should be applied. So, any person who misuses firearms will be held liable.”
