Police troop into Kogi ahead of governorship election

There is a heavy presence of security agents, most especially men of the Nigeria police, in Kogi state ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

On Thursday, TheCable observed that police officers littered the entry-point into Lokoja, the confluence state capital, as well as roamed the inner city.

Also, police trucks stood menacingly in the city centre, provoking a traffic jam on delicate roads.

And intermittently, a police helicopter, perhaps on surveillance, would fly above the state capital.

Solomon Arase, inspector-general of police, had announced earlier that he was deploying more than 4, 000 of his men to police the election.

“As part of measures aimed at ensuring a proper coordination of security operations and thus guaranteeing a hitch-free election, and credible electioneering process in the forthcoming Kogi state governorship election, the inspector-general of police, IGP Solomon E. Arase, has deployed DIG Sotonye Leroy Wakama, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Department of Operations, Force Headquarters, Abuja, to supervise security arrangements. He will be assisted by three Commissioners of Police and three Assistant Commissioners of Police during the election.  For the sake of the election, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Emmanuel Ojukwu has been redeployed to force Headquarters, Abuja pending the conclusion of the election,” Olabisi Kolawole, police spokesman, had said in a statement.

“The three CPs deployed to Kogi State will be specifically saddled with the responsibility of supervising security arrangements in the three Senatorial Districts of the State. They are: CP Isaac Eke, CP Peter Ogunyanwo and CP Sam Okaula. They will be assisted by an Assistant Commissioner of Police each, in their respective senatorial districts.

“In addition, 4,969 personnel of the Police Mobile Force (PMF) drawn from different squadrons across the country have been deployed to strategic places, to complement the 11,000 conventional Police manpower, and other security agents already deployed for the election.”