From Ismail Adebayo Birnin Kebbi
Kebbi State Police Command has said the force and other sister agencies are fully prepared to provide a conducive atmosphere for peaceful conduct of the supplementary election slated for Saturday in 20 local government areas of the state.
Kebbi State Commissioner of Police, CP Lawal Abubakar Daura, had earlier warned Area Commanders, DPOs and other Tactical Commanders to exhibit a high level of professionalism and abide by the Revised Force Standard Operational Guidelines for Police Officers and other Law Enforcement Agents on Election Duty.
He warned officers to be civil and mindful of their conduct in conformity with the human rights of the peace loving people of Kebbi State.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the Kebbi governorship election inconclusive over massive cancellation and overvoting in 20 out of the 21 local government areas of the state.
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The returning officer, Professor Yusuf Sa’idu, said the total registered voters for the elections stood at 2,032041 out of which the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 388,258 while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) garnered 342,980, leaving a difference of 45,278.
He said, “While the collation was on, we took records of where cancellations were made in 20 out of the 21 local government areas of the state, totaling 91,829”.
The police spokesperson in Kebbi, CSP Nafiu Abubakar, said the CP had also charged the senior police officers to ensure adequate security coverage in all the affected polling units and collation centres across the state by deploying policemen and other security personnel with a view to preventing electoral offences.
The CP had also directed officers to enforce strict restriction of vehicular movement from 12am-6pm on the election day to ensure a hitch-free electoral process.
