•Police
The Commissioner of Police in charge of Saturday governorship election in Anambra, Abayomi Shogunle, has called for coordination and synergy among security agencies before, during and after the poll.
Shogunle made the call in a statement issued yesterday in Awka, by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, SP Tochukwu Ikenga.
Shogunle quoted the CP as having made the call during a meeting with the security service commanders in the state to harmonise operational plans ahead of the election.
“There is the need for coordination and synergy, real-time intelligence sharing, joint patrols, and professional conduct of personnel before, during, and after the election,” he said.
He said that the measure aimed at ensuring peaceful, credible, and violence-free governorship election.
The CP said the meeting would also harmonise and strengthen the already established security operational structures for the election.
He reiterated the collective commitment of the security agencies toward ensuring a peaceful, credible, and violence-free election in the state.
Shogunle said that the security architecture put in place in the state remained resolute and united in ensuring that the will of the people through the ballot prevailed.
He encouraged residents to report suspicious persons and unusual movement to the nearest police station or through the command’s emergency telephone numbers; 112 or 07039194332 for prompt response.
The CP assured residents and political actors that the security agencies have jointly reviewed flashpoints, mapped out deployment strategies, and designed response mechanisms to swiftly address any breach of peace.
The service commanders, in their separate remarks, pledged full cooperation and reaffirmed their readiness to maintain law and order, safeguard voters, election officials, material and critical national infrastructure.
They called on the electorate to remain law-abiding, shun violence, and participate in the election without fear of intimidation.
The service commanders also urged political parties and candidates to play by the rules and discourage their supporters from acts capable of disrupting the peace.
The meeting, held at the State Police Command Headquarters, Awka, brought together service commanders from the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Department of State Services.
Others in attendance were Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Customs, Federal Road Safety Corps, and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
