The police command in Kogi is turning to God to make Saturday’s governorship election in the state the best-ever poll. Bethrand Onuoha, the police commissioner in Kogi, is trusting in God and the 40,000 police operatives stationed in the state to ensure peaceful conduct of the election.
In Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, elections are usually marred by violence and electoral malpractice.
Police chief Onuoha said he would ensure that does not happen in Saturday’s high-stake election in Kogi, one of three states (Bayelsa and Imo are the other two) where off-cycle gubernatorial polls will be held.
“We are going to swam the state with enough security personnel and by the special grace of God, with our actions and sanctions, we are going to confound our detractors,” said Mr Onuoha.
The police commissioner added, “God is telling me that this election is going to be better than all the elections ever held here in Kogi. We have directed our personnel to be fair to everybody because we come here to serve the people and not any particular individual.”
He acknowledged that the deployment of many police operatives was due to past violence recorded in Kogi during elections.
“As it is, we have marked out some security flash points for more vigilance even though recent happenings signalled to us that the whole Kogi is a flashpoint. From the number of security personnel we are deploying for this election, it’s enough testimony to tell you that the state needs more security checks.
“With the presence of adequate security personnel in Kogi, we are calling on everybody to come out and exercise his or her civic right in the Saturday governorship election,” the police chief explained.
Mr Onuoha urged politicians and their supporters to pursue peace and eschew violence, warning that the police will deal decisively with troublemakers.
“We expect that they should adopt politics without bitterness. Your brother is your brother, no matter where he belongs politically. In elections, you don’t use matches and guns to force people to give you votes,” the senior police chief stressed.
Mr Onuoha added, “Such people will meet the wrath of the law. What we want in Kogi is a peaceful and successful election. Therefore, politicians must play according to the rules of the game or be dealt with.”
(NAN)
