The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, has deployed Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) Ishyaku Mohammed to coordinate security operations for the Osun State governorship election scheduled for 15 August. The deployment was announced in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja by the Force Public Relations Officer, Anitie Iniedu.
Deployment and Coordination Role
According to the statement, DIG Mohammed will coordinate the police component of the election-security arrangement and work closely with other security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES). The IGP stated that the deployment is part of operational measures by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to ensure a peaceful, secure, and credible electoral process in Osun State.
DIG Mohammed will be supported by Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and Commissioners of Police strategically deployed across the three senatorial districts of the state. The senior officers are tasked with supervising operations, strengthening intelligence-led policing, and ensuring prompt response to emerging threats.
Security Arrangements and Warnings
The IGP added that the force has put adequate security arrangements in place to protect voters, INEC personnel, election materials, polling units, collation centres, accredited observers, and media practitioners before, during, and after the election. He warned political actors, their supporters, and all intending troublemakers that ballot snatching, voter intimidation, political thuggery, and every other electoral offence would attract prompt arrest and prosecution.
He reiterated the ban on armed escorts, security aides, and other unauthorised persons accompanying political figures or VIPs to polling units or collation centres on election day. State-established security outfits, quasi-security groups, and private security organisations are equally barred from election-security duties, consistent with established NPF directives.
Prior Deployment and Commitment
On 31 July, the IGP deployed a new Commissioner of Police, Samuel Erale, to oversee Saturday's election following months of persistent calls for the removal of CP Ibrahim Gotan amid allegations of partisanship and poor handling of election-related security. Disu pledged that the NPF would provide adequate security for residents, voters, and visitors in Osun ahead of the election. He urged eligible citizens to exercise their franchise peacefully and without fear, adding that the force remains committed to professionalism, neutrality, respect for human rights, and the protection of the electoral process.
