By SULEIMAN SHEHU
IBADAN- The Nigeria Police Force says it has commenced training for its officers, other security agencies and stakeholders in South-West on election management for peaceful conduct of the 2023 general elections.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three-day workshop, which started on Tuesday in Ibadan, was organised by the police, in collaboration with Solar Consult Company Ltd.
Theme of the workshop is: “2023 General Elections: Enhancing National Security Capacity for a Secured and Credible Electoral Process in Nigeria.”
NAN reports that present at the event were representatives of NSCDC, Immigration, NDLEA, Army, INEC officials, IPAC, religious leaders and traditional rulers.
A former Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, who facilitated the programme, said that similar workshop was held in Kano, Enugu, Benin and Maiduguri with the final being held in South-West geo-political zone.
Arase said the workshop was to sharpen the security knowledge and capacity of security agencies that would participate in the conduct of 2023 general elections.
He said the training was necessitated by the realisation of less professional conduct and poor coordination of law enforcement agencies during the past elections, as well as concerns raised by people within and outside Nigeria on the past elections.
Arase said it was projected that the workshop would lead to the attainment of credible election, entrench democratic value and strengthen national security.
He said that no fewer than 64 experts from legal and academic fields were selected to lecture the participants.
Also, IGP Usman Baba, represented by AIG Bode Adeleke, Zone II, called on the participants to work toward ensuring the peaceful conduct of the 2023 general elections and beyond.
Baba said that achieving peaceful elections in Nigeria was not only the responsibility of INEC, but the duty of all and sundry, adding that everyone has a role to play.
The Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Adebowale Williams, said that police and other security agencies in the state would continue to synergise toward achieving peaceful conduct of the general elections.
Williams assured the organiser that the lesson learnt during the workshop would be passed on to other officers.
He, also assured the people of Oyo State on the peaceful and fair conduct of election in the state.
Commenting, Apostle Dare Ojo, the state Chairman of Inter- Party Adversary Council (IPAC), called on heads of security agencies to find a way of ensuring that security agents vote during the elections.
Ojo said that political parties needed the votes of security personnel considering their huge number.
He said that their participation in the election would add to the votes of various political parties, leading to credibility of the election.
Declaring the workshop open, the state acting Governor, Bayo Lawal, said that the state had invested heavily on education, economy and security for peace to reign in the state.
Lawal, represented by Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, a retired Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said that creation of
Oyo State Security Network (Amotekun Corps) was a way of complimenting the police efforts to strengthen security at the grassroots. (NAN)
