IG Sends More Police Officers to Rivers to Forestall Political Killings

Political killings in the some parts of the country especially in Rivers State has become worrisome that the Inspector General of Police (IG), Suleiman Abba, had deployed more police personnel to the state and other volatile states.
The IG said this on Tuesday, at a conference in Abuja with the commissioners of police.

He said “We are re-strategising on the crime prevention and control and that is why we are deploying more officers to states like Rivers and other volatile ones. We have so far arrested three suspects in connection with the Enugu State bomb blast and so far, we have arrested 124 people for different electoral offences.”


He commended the efforts of the force for their roles during the presidential election and asked for more commitment on their part.
“First of all, I must commend our officers and men for their performance in the last election. They exhibited high sense of professionalism, impartiality, and non-partisanship to a great level. We are here to encourage them to do more so that they don’t rubbish what they had already achieved,” he said.

Meanwhile, the IG has warned all security detail attached to political office holders to desist from accompanying their principals to polling booths and collation centres during the election.
In a statement signed by the Force spokesperson, Emmanuel Ojukwu, the IG said that only police personnel specifically assigned for election duties must be seen within and around the election designated places.

Abba also reiterated his earlier warning that no armed police escort must be seen escorting politicians to the polling units as such policemen would be arrested and made to face stern disciplinary action.
He called for a similar level of citizens’ cooperation and support for the police and other relevant agencies in the forthcoming gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections this weekend.