Security agencies in Abia State on Thursday marched through the streets of Umuahia, the Abia State capital, to demonstrate its readiness for Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Personnel of the Military, Police, Immigration, Prisons, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and National Drug Law Enforcent Agency participated in the exercise tagged “Show of Strength” which saw the well-armed security operatives driving in a motorcade, blaring sirens through major streets of Umuahia.

Addressing newsmen at the Central Police Station field, Umuahia, Abia state Commissioner of Police, Habila Joshak, said the exercise was to assure the public that the security agencies were prepared to provide adequate security during and after the polls.

“The objective of this show of strength is to send the message to the public that we have all it takes to secure the electoral process, come Saturday, the 28 of March; that we have the ability to respond to any attempt at breakdown of law and order in any part of Abia State.

“We also want to tell the members of the public that nothing shall discourage them from coming out and that they are free and that all the electorate would be protected.

“We want to tell the masses that the era of an attempt to snatch ballot boxes, ballot papers, electoral materials that are sensitive and non-sensitive, election results or the Almighty Card Reader that has been threatened, we have what it takes through this collaboration of the officers of the agencies of federal government that are uniformed, all of them have been collapsed into this synergy to provide security to all those that will be driving the engine of the electoral process of this great election that is coming up on Saturday,” Joshak said.

He advised all security personnel deployed on election duties to be very professional in providing conducive environment for polling to take place rather than getting involved as drivers of the process.

The CP warned politicians and their supporters to refrain from any form of violence during and after the general elections.

Warning that such acts would not be condoned, Joshak said “anyone fingered in any act of violence, directly or indirectly, will be subjected to appropriate judicial process. Election is not a do-or-die affair and so should be pursued with spirits of sportsmanship.”

He said 12,000 Policemen would be deployed to ensure that the elections were peaceful in Abia state.

•Photo shows CP, Abia (middle)

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