About 5,000 policemen are expected to be drafted within and around the Lagos metropolis for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary scheduled to hold in Lagos today.
Presently, all Area Commanders and their respective Divisional Police Officers have been directed to be on standby, while also ensuring that additional hands be provided.
The move, it was gathered, is to forestall a breakdown of law and order in
any part of the state by miscreants loyal to any of the contenders.
Daily Trust reliably learnt from a senior police source at the Command Headquarters, Ikeja, that those that have been drafted for the APC
Presidential Primary would be on special duties from at least 24 hours
ahead of the scheduled time of the election.
The source revealed that apart from those to be deployed from the
Operations Department of the Command, Area Commanders and Divisional
Police Officers have also been mandated by the Commissioner of Police,
Lagos State, Kayode Aderanti, to ensure that more hands are drafted to
cover their respective areas of responsibility.
Although the command is not expecting any violent protest, but the source
explained that the new operational order became necessary in view of the
calibre of persons that have started arriving the state for the primaries.
“The Command headquarters is leaving no stone unturned in this regard and
does not want to be taken unawares should there be any fracas,” he added.
The Lagos State Police Spokesman, Kenneth Nwosu told Daily Trust on phone that the command is fully prepared for the polls.
He stated that adequate measures have been put in place to police the
metropolis effectively throughout the duration of the party presidential
primaries.
“Ahead of this, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Kayode Aderanti,
recently held a meeting with the leadership of all the political parties
during which the CP urged them to advise their followers to play by the
rules.
“He told them that although he is not expecting any breakdown of law and
order, it won’t also hurt anyone if he or she is asked to respect the
rights of others,” he added.
Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police further explained that this was
what informed the CP’s earlier directive to those who may be in possession
of illegally acquired arms to return it to the command or would be made to
face the wrath of the law if arrested at the expiration of the 14 days
grace given.
He noted that it is at times like this that those who may be in possession
of arms might want to take laws into their hands under the guise of
providing security for politicians.
