Police Exhibited Exceptional Professionalism, Says IGP, Refutes APC Allegations Of Partisanship

The Nigeria Police High Command has once again commended its personnel that participated in the policing of the just concluded Ekiti gubernatorial elections for their unparalleled professionalism displayed during the exercise. The Police Authorities believe that these virtues of selflessness and dedication to duty contributed in no small measure to the overall success of the widely acclaimed free and fair election.

The Police authorities particularly reject and view as unkind and misleading the caustic remarks made in a television interview by the spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who claimed that a particular political stalwart held a meeting on the eve of the election with a so called “Strike Force”, comprising the Army, the Police and DSS, and instructed them to protect the interest of their benefactor. The Force therefore, strongly refutes this improbable allegation and warns politicians to desist from promoting such deliberate falsehood.

While noting that at all times officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force only take lawful orders from their commanders, the Police High Command expresses gladness that at no stage of the election was any case of professional misconduct or partisanship reported against any Police officer, rather, the officers exhibited a high standard of discipline, fairness, civility and political neutrality all through the process, a conduct which Ekiti indigenes, election observers, the contestants and people of diverse socio-political leanings have attested to and applauded.

The Force therefore wishes to advise politicians and other stakeholders to respect the wishes freely and voluntarily expressed through the ballot in a rancor-free atmosphere by the people of Ekiti, adding that the Police Force is neither a political party nor affiliated to any such group and therefore should be left out of partisan politics to enable it freely discharge its mandate of protecting the integrity of the electoral process dispassionately.