THE Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has reassured Nigerians of adequate preparations and safety during the forthcoming 2023 elections.
The Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for February 25, while the Governorship and State Assembly elections will hold on March 11.
The insecurity rate in the last few months leading to the election has created fears among the electorate.
For instance, the Labour Party (LP) women leader in Kaduna, Victoria Chimtex, was killed by yet-to-be-identified gunmen in November 2022.
The incident occurred in the deceased’s residence in Kaura Local Government Area in southern Kaduna.
The hoodlums also shot Chimtex’s husband in the leg.
Also in November, some hoodlums in various vehicles allegedly launched an attack on the crowd during a campaign rally by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ibadan.
Some members of the party were reportedly hurt during the attack.
The APC organised the rally to mobilise support for APC’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, and the governorship candidate, Teslim Folarin.
In December of the same year, the LP House of Assembly candidate for Onuimo Local Government Area in Imo State, Christopher Eleghu, was assassinated by yet-to-be-identified gunmen on Friday, December 16, 2022, and his house and cars were set ablaze by the attackers.
In addition, data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) showed that 29 violent attacks occurred in Nigeria in 2023 alone.
Political violence has also been rampant during this period.
For instance, four persons were confirmed injured as hoodlums attacked supporters of the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as he campaigned in Lagos State on Saturday, February 11.
The state police command confirmed the attack through its Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin.
Gunshots also forced the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to suspend a campaign rally in Esan Central Local Government Area of Edo State on Wednesday, January 18.
In another incident, the Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Abiye Sekibo, reportedly escaped assassination on Thursday, February 9.
It was gathered that unidentified gunmen, dressed in police uniform, opened fire on Sekibo’s vehicle, a Toyota Landcruiser bulletproof jeep, at the Rainbow Town in Port Harcourt, where he went to inspect the venue ahead of a PDP presidential campaign rally in the state.
Sekibo, while confirming the incident, said his car was riddled with bullets.
He linked Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike to the alleged assassination attempt.
However, despite all these incidents, the NPF spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a chat with The ICIR, assured Nigerians that the force would provide adequate security for voters before, during and after the elections.
He assured that the election would be free, fair and credible.
“Every step has been taken to protect and secure the 2023 electoral process so as to have free, fair, and credible elections in Nigeria.
“We are optimistic that we will have a smooth process on 25th February and 11th March 2023,” Adejobi said.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, disclosed that the police and other security agencies would deploy over 400,000 personnel nationwide for the general elections.
The IGP added that an intelligence unit would be in place to track and apprehend those engaged in vote- buying and others who may want to disrupt the poll.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance