Edo/Ondo Elections: Police Anticipate violence, Promise neutrality, professionalism.

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, on Monday has predicted possible violence during the forthcoming Edo and Ondo gubernatorial elections but assured the force would remain neutral and professional to ensure the maintenance of law and order.

Adamu disclosed this during an interactive session with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) at the Force headquarters, Abuja geared at conceiving strategies to ensure hitch-free elections.

According to him, the police had already deployed intelligence to generate threat used to sustain their processes during the elections in both states, to pre-empt the violation of law and order.

He said the police would deploy all necessary resources to ensure equity and fairness during the election.

Adamu acknowledged the contributions of CSOs in elections across the country, describing them as key actors in electioneering processes, hence the need for the interactive sessions.

“The objective is to share knowledge and compare knowledge especially in regards to experiences with election security in Nigeria.

“We shall have discussions on key indicators of key election security threats especially arming and movements of political thugs, use of inciting statements during political campaigns, the high likelihood of violence, the issue of misinformation and disinformation aimed at heating up the polity,” he said.

On his part, the convener, Civil Society Situation Room, Clement Nwankwo, promised the support and partnership of CSOs with the Police in ensuring peaceful elections in both states.

He, however, called on the police to make themselves available when the need arises.

Also speaking was the co-convener, CSOs Situation Room, Barrister Esther Uzoma, who called for more participation of women in the police force – monitoring election, describing women as better managers of crises.