The Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG, in charge of Zone 15, Yahaya Abubakar, on Wednesday warned policemen not to allow themselves to be used by politicians in the forthcoming elections.
Mr Abubakar gave the warning at the Gombe State Command headquarters while sensitising officers ahead of Saturday’s election duty in the state.
He said that personnel must ensure that their actions were in line with their duties as stipulated in the Electoral Act of 2022 and not to be politically motivated while on duty.
Mr Abubakar, who was posted to Zone 12 Bauchi, which comprises Bauchi and Gombe States, on election duty, told officers to exercise high sense of neutrality and impartiality in the conduct of their duties.
He warned them to resist the temptation of being used by politicians to “deal with this person or the other person: it is wrong to allow yourselves to be used in that regard.”
According to him, the unprofessional action of any officer could dent the image of the police institution, hence personnel needs to be as professional as possible.
“Remember that the world is watching you and your primary duty during the election is to assist INEC officials on maintenance of law and order at the polling and the collation centres.”
The AIG also cautioned them against openly fraternising with political parties and their candidates.
“You must avoid fraternising with any political party and officials or their candidates.
“Open fraternisation should be avoided as such actions are capable of undermining the neutrality status of the police and could be misinterpreted by the public.
“Associating with political parties and their candidates could compromise the integrity of the process in that polling unit,” he said.
He called on them to be fair and exercise their duties in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
Mr Abubakar stated that any deviation by any officer on election duty would be investigated and necessary sanctions meted out to erring personnel.
On his part, Oqua Etim, the Commissioner of Police, Gombe State Command, said his personnel were ready and would be adequately deployed to ensure the peaceful conduct of elections.
NAN
