Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has commenced the training of its personnel on how to manage electoral offences before, during and after the elections.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony of the training in Abuja at the weekend, the Inspector-general of Police, Usman Baba said the training has become necessary due to the constitutional requirements of the police to ensure a peaceful, free and fair general election.
The IGP said the training would be done across the six geo-political zones in the country (including the FCT) to ensure that the officers and men of the police force are adequately prepared for the general elections.
Represented by the commissioner of police in charge of training, CP Stephen Olarewaju, the IGP said “we know that there are problems of insecurity across the country from the north to the south and the 2023 general election is fast approaching. Therefore, there is the need for adequate training of police officers that will be involved in the electioneering period on how to handle election-related crises.
“This is why the management of the Nigeria Police Force has approved this workshop with support from the WAN DIYOS limited to train the officers and men of the police in combating all problems that may arise during the election.”
While addressing the officers and men participating in the training, the IGP urged them to pay serious attention to the lecture and make good use of it as the nation expects them to be of good behaviour during the poll.
The lead consultant, WAN DIYOS Limited, Prof Shehu Liberty said the successes of the 2023 election would be largely determined by the role played by officers.
He stated that as the lead agency in the internal security, it is expected that the police officers be highly trained and ready for the election in order to avoid any violence or crisis that may come during the election.
He also explained that the training would focus on cultism and other dynamics involved in elections.
The participants trained in Abuja include 100 police officers drawn from different commands, divisions and units and the same thing will be applied to the other six geo-political zones across the country.
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