Mr Bala Hassan, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of zone 10, said on Thursday that about 18,000 security personnel would be deployed to provide security during the April 11 elections in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states.
Hassan told the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) in Sokoto that the security personnel had been briefed on the operational modalities for ensuring adequate security before, during and after the elections in the affected states.
He said that the zonal command had fine tune its method of operations to prevent any form of electoral malpractices.
“We have taken concrete security measures to improve on what we have done in the presidential elections in order to ensure peaceful conduct of the gubernatorial and state assembly elections,” he said.
The AIG said that no crisis was recorded during the March 28 election and attributed the success achieved to the security measures put in place by the police.
Hassan directed the three commissioners of police under his supervision to ensure effective monitoring of the election in their respective areas of operations.
” We have done it in the last Presidential and National Assembly elections and we are battle-ready to do the same to enable eligible electorate exercise their civil responsibility through peaceful atmosphere,” he said.
He advised trouble makers to stay clear from the zone, adding that the police would deal ruthlessly with any person or group of people planning to breach the peace in the affected states.
“We will not tolerate any form of political violence as anti- thungery units are battle ready to exercise their constitutional responsibility, ” the AIG warned.
