In order to ensure security during the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State, the Nigeria Police Force has deployed 30,000 men for the exercise.
Force spokesman, Acting DCP, Jimoh Moshood, made this known on Sunday in Abuja in a statement he issued.
According to him, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) in charge of Operations has been deployed to the state.
Moshood explained that those deployed were from different sections, including the Police Mobile Force (PMF) Units; Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU); the Special Protection Unit (SPU), the Anti Bomb Squad (EOD), Conventional Policemen, the Armament Unit, FCIID and the Sniffer dogs section.
Available for the exercise too are two Patrol Surveillance Helicopters, five additional Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), 10 Armoured Personnel Vehicles and 250 Police patrol vehicles.
Other security and safety agencies, the spokesman said, would complement the efforts of the police.
He also disclosed that an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, four Commissioners of Police, eight Deputy Commissioners of Police and 18 Assistant Commissioners of Police would be on ground for the exercise.
He explained that in each of the senatorial district a commissioner of police would be in charge while the DIG would execute the security operations.
While stating that the security personnel would be deployed for the elections throughout the 2,451 polling units/voting points, 177 wards and the 16 local government areas of the state, he said four policemen and two others from other security agencies would be on duty at each polling unit throughout the state.
He, however, said the personnel deployed for the elections had been warned to be civil but firm in the discharge of their duties.
The spokesman said commissioners of police and their personnel in states contiguous and close to Ekiti had been told to be on red alert.
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The states are Ondo, Osun, Kwara, Kogi, Ogun, Edo and Oyo states.
The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, it was disclosed, would hold a stakeholders’ meeting with all the 35 political parties participating in the election, INEC officials and other accredited stakeholders, on the need for a peaceful election.
