The Bauchi State Police Command has made it unlawful for anyone to be accompanied to a voting location by security escorts or orderlies. Also, it issued warnings to quasi-security organizations, watchdog groups, and hunter’s clubs among others to avoid voting places during the election.
The police announced that there will be limits on movement during the election, with the exception of those doing vital responsibilities. They also forbade politicians from using sirens or travelling between polling places.
The leadership also issued a warning that it would detain anyone discovered buying or selling votes during the Saturday elections for the National Assembly and the presidency.
These cautions were issued in a statement released on Thursday by Ahmed Wakil, the state police public relations officer. Any infraction, he said, would not be tolerated.
Superintendent of Police Wakil assured the public that the command had put in place sufficient security measures and would give all political parties a level playing field for the peaceful conduct of the general election across the 20 local government areas, covering 212 wards, with a total of 4,074 polling units dispersed throughout the state.
The command has put in place adequate security measures to ensure a safe, secure, and favorable environment for the conduct of the general election in 2023. This is done in order to manage public order, ensure voter safety, and support the security agencies in conducting effective policing. As a result, hoodlums and criminally inclined individuals will not be able to interfere with the electoral process in the State.
According to the Electoral Act of 2022, CP Aminu Alhassan, the Commissioner of Police for Bauchi State Command, has directed that the following procedures be followed to guarantee a peaceful election in the State.
All quasi-outfits owned by the state government, such as Vigilante Groups, Hunters, Danga Security, Ansaru Security, Neighborhood watch, and others, are hereby prohibited from participating in the conduct of the general election under the Electoral Act 2022 because only the statutory security agencies recognized by law will be allowed to provide security for the election. Anybody discovered violating electoral laws or walking around with weapons faces possible capture and appropriate legal action.
Between midnight on February 24 and 6:00 pm on February 25, 2023, all unauthorized vehicular movement will be prohibited on roads, waterways, and other forms of transportation, with the exception of those providing essential services, such as INEC staff, ambulances, and firefighters who are authorized election observers, etc., who must carry a valid identification card to gain access.
Important people, politicians, and their security teams are not permitted to enter any polling place. Also, they are warned against moving between voting places on election day. The law prohibiting the use of sirens, rotating lights, covered license plates, and tinted glasses is still in effect, and offenders will face the relevant penalties.
The CP also harshly urges all security aides and escorts to refrain from going with their principals and politicians to polling places and collation centers during the election since anyone found disobeying this order will face severe sanctions. He emphasized that only security personnel who have been assigned expressly to election responsibilities should be observed within and around the authorized polling places and centers.
Wakil asked all active electorates to be law-abiding and turn out to exercise their franchise without any fear or intimidation from anyone, while also empathizing with well-meaning residents on the problems the orders may cause them.
To ensure a peaceful election, he issued a warning that the command would act harshly with any person(s) or group(s) attempting to undermine our unity.
The CP continued, “Therefore, the CP enjoins all citizens to abstain from vote buying, vote selling, hate speech, misinformation, disinformation, and other criminal act(s), as the Force and other security agencies will spare no effort to ensure that all violators of existing laws, particularly the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended), are brought to justice.
Lastly, CP Aminu Alhassan, the commissioner of police, pleaded with parents, traditional leaders, religious figures, public figures, and guardians to persuade their children and subjects not to use themselves as human shields in disturbances of public peace before, during, and after the election.
The Police and other sister security agencies in the state will not hold back in mobilizing all resources at their disposal to confront and neutralize the violators in accordance with the existing laws, the Command unequivocally warns all criminal elements in the state and their allies who may be nursing an agenda that is inimical to the safety and security of the state.
