Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Nigerian Police Force has stated that it will be training its officers on election security management practices.
Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali, said the leadership had kick-started efforts to retool officers to achieve fair, peaceful, secure and credible elections next year.
In a statement, he noted that the ‘Election Security Management Workshop’, slated for August 4, would feature sessions, led by legal and security experts, including top officers of the armed forces, to provide lessons on the legal and security framework guiding roles and actions of the police, as well as how to facilitate an inter-agency collaboration for hitch-free elections next year.
He said: “The training, which will be delivered in partnership with Solar Security and Consult Company Limited – a training consultancy company with vast experience in election security management – will hold across the six geopolitical zones of the country and will commence with the North-Central zone on August 4, 2022 in Abuja.
“Subsequently, other geopolitical zones will host the training, which is designed as a train-the-trainer programme.
“Your absolute cooperation is mandatory for the overall success of this initiative.”
“Some of the objectives of the training include enhancing knowledge of security agents on election security management, drawing on global best practices, facilitating a stronger inter-agency collaboration and orientation towards security governance during the 2023 polls, ensuring adequate appreciation of peculiar election security threats and specific approaches towards managing them at the various stages of the electoral process.
“The training will also ensure comprehension of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended), Constitution and all other relevant statutes, as well as the development of an election security management protocol for future elections in Nigeria, besides the enhancement of political intelligence and electoral offence investigations,” the IGP added.
