The police yesterday warned governors and other politicians alleged to be in Osun State to respect the Electoral Act and stay away from election areas or face arrest.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) coordinator of the Joint Security Task Force for the election, Josak Habila, stated this during separate meetings with observers from National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI) as well as the United States Mission at the state command headquarters in Osogbo.

Habila was answering questions from the leader of the observers’ delegation, John Tomaszweski, who asked what the police would do to some governors who were said to be in the state.

He said: “I do not know if there are governors in the state. Maybe they came to give support to their members and friends. But they must know that they are not to be found anywhere elections are going on.

“They should also respect the restriction of movement because anyone caught breaking the rules will be dealt with, no matter how highly placed.”

On the fears about vote buying, Habila said the ban on the use of mobile phones as well as the deployment of six uniformed security agents per polling unit were meant to address that situation, adding that intelligence squad had also been deployed to various parts of the state.

On the strength of security operatives deployed for the exercise, the DIG said there were 28,000 comprising the police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Directorate of State Services (DSS) and the military.

He said also that a Police Mobile Force (PMF) unit comprising 63 operatives and 10 patrol vehicles has been deployed to each of the local government areas of the state.

He denied allegations that too many security operatives were deployed to the state, noting that the deployment was less than what obtained in Ekiti.

•Excerpted from The Nation report

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