The Nigeria Police Force has announced a total lockdown of Osun State from midnight on Friday, restricting all movement as security agencies finalise deployment for Saturday’s governorship election.

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Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), CSP Ani Iniedu, disclosed this on Friday during a briefing at the Osun State Police Command Headquarters, Osogbo, where he gave an update on security deployment across the state’s 30 local government areas.

Iniedu said air surveillance units, including helicopters and drones, had commenced patrols across the state, alongside a Police Mobile Force (PMF) unit deployed to each local government area under the command of an Assistant Commissioner of Police serving as squadron commander.

Each unit, he added, would be supervised by a Commissioner of Police (CP) and a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).

He said two units of combat-ready armed PMF personnel had been deployed to the Independent National Electoral Commission office, alongside seven detachments of Special Protection Units (SPUs) personnel assigned to escort electoral materials and protect INEC officials.

Iniedu maintained that the police remained neutral in the election, stating that their constitutional mandate was the protection of life and property.

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He appealed to parents to prevent their underage children from participating in voting or electoral violence, and urged voters to turn out in large numbers, assuring them of adequate security.

On vote buying, Iniedu said the Inspector General of Police had directed election supervisors to ensure that anyone caught engaging in the practice was arrested and prosecuted immediately.

He said a 24-hour call centre had been activated to receive complaints of misconduct by officers on election duty, with an assurance that any officer found culpable of breaching electoral laws would be investigated and sanctioned.

Responding to a question on a shooting incident reported the previous day, Iniedu said the command had yet to receive an official update but promised details at the next briefing.

He said the police had recorded earlier reports of clashes and politically motivated attacks, some of which were already before the courts, adding that outstanding cases remained under investigation.

Iniedu said the police had also engaged stakeholders and ad-hoc electoral staff, including members of the National Youth Service Corps, to reassure them of their safety throughout the process, and reiterated that welfare arrangements for deployed officers had been fully addressed to support impartial conduct (The Nation)

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