THE Police Command in Nasarawa State has warned political parties and their supporters to abstain from all forms of electoral violence as they conduct their campaigns as the 2023 general election draws nearer.
The state’s police commissioner, Adesina Soyemi, issued this warning in a meeting with state chairmen, party secretaries, and the resident electoral commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission yesterday in Lafia.
He clarified that the meeting was held in accordance with the Inspector-General of Police’s (Alkali Baba) order to ensure the smooth running of the general election in 2023.
Soyemi said, “I want to warn sternly that all political parties and actors must subsume their campaigns within extant legal frameworks and avoid actions or speeches that could inflame the political order.
“I also want to warn individuals whose perception of democracy is the application of violence, to have a rethink because the police are committed to dealing firmly with such characters within the dictates of the law.
“All political parties are expected to apply for permission to hold rallies 72 hours before such rallies are held. Safety and security of all attendees will be put into consideration before granting approval.
“On no account will two political parties be allowed to carry out their campaigns within the same vicinity simultaneously, which is likely to cause violence and breach of public peace.”
The commissioner assured that the police would provide security for all persons and property involved in the entire electoral process without bias.
“I want to emphatically assure you that ahead of the electioneering process and the 2023 general election, all police officers and men serving in the command have been charged to be neutral, alert and display high degree of professionalism and fairness in their dealings with political parties”, he added.
The resident electoral commissioner for Nasarawa State, Uthman Ajidagba, pledged that the commission would hold legitimate elections in 2023.
Usman Wase, the State Administrative Secretary of INEC, who was standing in for Ajidagba, said that the commission will ensure equal playing conditions for all political parties and while urging them to lend their full support to ensuring a smooth electoral process in the state.
In their separate remarks, Alexander Emmanuel, the state chairman of the Labour Party, Hassan Abubakar, the state organizing secretary of the APC, and Adamu Bako, the state secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, among others, commended the police for taking the initiative and pledged to follow the rules governing the elections in 2023.
