•Report by Mudasir Opeyemi
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, on Tuesday met with security committee, stakeholders “to build solid Standard Operating Procedure and strategic communication action plan geared towards having a seamless electoral process.”
The IGP also harped on intelligence gathering in tackling security challenges in the country.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi saying that the meeting, which was held at the Force Headquarters in Abuja was to corroborate President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to leaving a legacy of a deepened democratic system and credible electoral process in the nation.
“In furtherance of the IGP’s critical plans in actualizing free, fair, and credible elections in Nigeria, a strategic meeting with all heads of operations of national security agencies in the country, was held at the instance of the IGP, on Tuesday 13th December 2022, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, to further deepen inter-agency collaborative initiatives towards guaranteeing secure electioneering processes for the 2023 General Elections,” the statement read.
“At the meeting, the IGP emphasized the need to enhance actionable intelligence gathering and sharing, coordinated operations, and adequate deployment of personnel and resources by all relevant security agencies and stakeholders in the election process.”
Similarly, the IGP has also called on the Nigeria Police spokespersons to develop and implement a productive strategic communication action plan that will give leverage to the already established operational drives of the Police to have a free, fair, and credible election in 2023.
He made the call at the ongoing 2022 Police Public Relations Officers’ Conference themed ‘Strengthening Strategic Communication Towards Police Reforms, Security and Integrity of 2023 Election’ in Ibadan,Oyo State.
The IGP who spoke through the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID), DIG Johnson Babatunde Kokumo,charged the PPROs to exhibit their skills in strategic communication to stem the pockets of electoral conflicts and violence being experienced across the country, as such could be a “general panacea for security challenges in Nigeria.”
According to the statement,the opening ceremony of the Conference was held at Kakanfo Inn, Ibadan on Monday 12th December 2022.
The Conference will come to a close on Thursday 15th December 2022, with a gala night at the same venue.