5th September, 2016
The immediate past Commissioner for Police in Edo State, Mr. Chris Ezike, has assured the people of the state of adequate security of lives and properties during next Saturday gubernatorial election.
Ezike gave the assurance in Benin while handing over to his successor, Mr. Fimihan Adeoye.
According to the outgone CP, elections in some parts of the country have been inconclusive because of security challenges.
He therefore urged the new Commissioner of Police and the Edo Police Command to implement the laid down security arrangement for the success of the gubernatorial election, just as he also urged officers and men of the State Police Command to remain professional and police with integrity.
“For the election, Nigerians are looking up to Edo State to lead so that others will follow. You either remain a professional or a police politician,” Ezike told officers of the command.
He said he was leaving Edo better than he met it, adding that cultism has been fought to a standstill, even as he urged his successor to continue in the same spirit, because according to him, cultism is the root of all crimes in the state.
Ezike is now on posting to the Police College, Ikeja, as Commandant.
In his response, the new Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fimihan Adeoye, who thanked Ezike for his successes, promised to improve on what he met on ground.
Earlier while playing host to the Director-Genaral of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier-General Sule Kazaure, Mr. Chris Ezike, warned that the State Police Command would not spare any corps members found committing electoral offences during the governorship poll.
He said that the state was in “tempting times,” adding that the election was critical to the current administration.
“If there are individual offences they commit, they will be answerable for those offences. So, before the election, it is very important that we advise, admonish and counsel them to be of impeccable behaviour, to be very professional, in line with the trainings and skills they have acquired for this job.”
Ezike told the NYSC DG that adequate arrangements had been made to provide protection for all personnel of INEC, explaining that such arrangements, included the detailing of all corpers’ lodges in the state, in order to ensure their safety before, during and after the poll.
In his comment, the NYSC DG, who also met with the 4 Brigade Commander of the Nigerian Army, Brig-Gen. Benbella Raji, explained that the visit was aimed at securing adequate cover for the corp members, who would serve as ad hoc staff.
“Based on that, I am going round to meet all the critical stakeholders, as far as security is concerned, to solicit your cooperation to ensure the safety of my children, the corps members,” Kazaure said.
He urged the corps members to shun every form of corrupt practices during the electoral exercise.
The Brigade Commander had earlier assured that the Nigerian Army would work closely with other security agencies to protect the lives of all stakeholders at the poll.
On the strategies mapped out for the ad hoc staff, Raji said, “We have gone as far as saying that in the respective wards where the corps members will be, the phone numbers of the officers who will be there have already been shared so that the corps members can have them.”