The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, has said the Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Ibrahim Gotan, was directed to step aside ahead of the August 15 governorship election to strengthen public confidence in the neutrality of the Police Command.
Disu said the decision followed complaints by political parties about the command’s impartiality, stressing that it was not a disciplinary action against Gotan but a precautionary measure to ensure a transparent electoral process.
The IGP disclosed this on Friday in Abuja during a meeting with a delegation of civil society organisations led by the Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo, on election security in Osun State.
Disu said the Electoral Commissioner of Police, CP Samuel Erale Etaifo, had taken charge of election security in the state, while the Assistant Inspector-General of Police overseeing the election would also assume his duties.
He said the police took the decision after intelligence indicated an increase in political violence in the state, with rival cult groups allegedly linked to political actors implicated in some of the unrest.
According to Disu, the police had deployed personnel to the state ahead of the election, while he personally visited Osun to meet political parties, students and parents on measures to prevent violence.
“During my visit, I had meetings with political parties. And at the same time, we deployed teams earlier, when we noticed the increase in violence. And for the first time, we deployed the Electoral Commissioner, who is taking charge of the elections, earlier than usual when we noticed that certain groups of politicians or parties have been complaining that they no longer trust the Commissioner of Police.
“So the Commissioner of Police was asked to stand aside, while the Electoral Commissioner of Police took over. And then the AIG, in charge of elections, will be moving in any moment,” he said.
14,692 Police Officers For Osun Election
The IGP also disclosed that the Nigeria Police Force planned to deploy at least four policemen to each of the 3,673 polling units in the state.
With Osun having 30 local government areas and 332 wards, Disu said the deployment would amount to at least 14,692 police officers, excluding personnel from other security agencies involved in the operation.
He said the deployment would be larger than that used during the last governorship election in Ekiti State because of the heightened tension surrounding the Osun poll.
“A great number of officers have been deployed to Osun. I’m sure you know that we have 30 local governments. We have 332 wards. And the polling units are 3,673. So it’s a very large number of units. Larger than the last election we conducted in Ekiti State,” he said.
He added, “We deployed just like we did in the Ekiti State election. But in the Osun case, we are deploying more than that. The number of officers we have deployed is huge.
“But we took into consideration the tension that the election is generating. And the fact that we have 3,673 polling units. We intend to have not less than four policemen in all the polling units.”
Disu further revealed that senior police officers deployed for the election may not be informed of their specific local government assignments until the eve of the election or election day.
He said the measure was introduced to prevent politicians from identifying and attempting to influence security personnel assigned to particular areas.
“Everybody looks up to us now. The senior officers that have been deployed for that election have been noted down. We have their names.
“I have approved this. But so far, they do not know the local governments they will work in until probably the day or a day before they are deployed to this area. Because we notice politicians are making frantic efforts to identify who will be coming to this local government or that local government.
“In some instances that we notice, we feel that we have been compromised. We have made changes. And we are still going to make changes till the day the election is going to start,” Disu noted.
The IGP maintained that the police would remain neutral throughout the election, describing the Osun poll as an important test of the Force’s professionalism ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He warned police officers against compromising the electoral process, saying personnel found guilty of misconduct would face disciplinary action.
Disu also appealed to parents to prevent their children from participating in election-related violence, stressing that no political contest was worth the loss of life.
He recalled meeting parents during his visit to Osun and urged them not to allow their children to be used as “cannon fodder” by politicians.
The IGP also cautioned political parties, candidates and their supporters to maintain peace before, during and after the election.
He warned that anyone who violated the Electoral Act or other relevant laws would be prosecuted.
Disu added that politicians and other individuals would not be allowed to move around with police escorts during the election as part of measures to ensure a level playing field.
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