A non-governmental organisation, CLEEN, has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to build the capacity of Nigeria Police Force officers in security management for the 2023 general elections.
Declaring the event open in Ibadan on Monday, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Williams, said the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali, in a recent training session, highlighted the responsibilities of law enforcers.
He enjoined the officers to be open-minded and unlearn, learn, and relearn.
“It is worth noting that the primacy of the Nigeria Police Force as the lead agency in securing the nation’s electoral process and, indeed, the entire security architecture cannot be argued.
“During your program, you would all be exposed to enhanced operational capabilities and purposeful intelligence coordination with relevant sister agencies. And communication management with relevant stakeholders which includes but is not limited to the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Inter-Agency Consultative Committee (ICCES),” he said.
Williams said, “The training was to ensure that the officers’ capacity was optimised, and it is part of the series of training organised by the Inspector General of Police.”
He further said the training would reposition the officers psychologically and prepare them for the task ahead.
Also, Fimihan Adeoye, a facilitator and retired assistant inspector general of police, said the essence of the training was to prepare the officers for effective service delivery before, during, and after the elections.
“It is to enhance their capabilities to discharge their statutory duties effectively to the extent that a conducive environment would be provided, for the peaceful conduct of the electoral process,” Adeoye said.
He stated that political stability was vital to every aspect of national life which further underscored the importance of the training.
Speaking on behalf of the CLEEN Foundation, Mr Gabriel Akinremi said the event was on election security management, and it was imperative to engage the police. The participants were drawn from different states in western Nigeria.
“We are here to discuss how to manage and police elections before, after, and during the 2023 elections.
“Police is one of our primary key stakeholders, and having conducted a security threat assessment, we try to find out some areas that are hotspots as well as issues and opinions of the citizens about elections, and as we go to the 2023 elections, CLEEN Foundation will also have the security threat assessment in local government across Nigeria,” Akinremi said.
The five-day training for Divisional Police Officers on Election Security Management in Nigeria will end on Nov. 18, 2022.
