James Sowole in Abeokuta
The Ogun State Police Command has warned political actors and stakeholders to discharge their responsibilities in line with the Electoral Act and the Nigerian Constitution.
The Command warned that it would not allow criminal elements to exploit the electoral process and foment trouble during next year’s general election.
The warning was issued by the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Bode Ojajuni, in his address delivered at a workshop organised by the Command in Abeokuta on the 2027 election.
The workshop, with the theme: ‘Elections, Security, the Law, Stakeholders, and the Media’, drew participants from various stakeholders, including police officers, media professionals, lawyers, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officers, Department of State Services (DSS) officers, men of Ogun State Security Network (Amotekun), among others.
The police boss maintained that elections are not war, urging all political actors to understand the legal boundaries governing all election activities.
He said: “Elections are not a war. They are a constitutional process through which citizens choose their representatives. At the end of every election, political opponents remain citizens, neighbours and members of the same society.
“Our collective responsibility is therefore to ensure that political differences do not destroy the peace upon which our communities depend.”
He noted that election security remained a shared responsibility, appealing to all political actors to respect the law.
“Election security cannot be the responsibility of the security agencies alone. While the police and other security agencies have statutory responsibilities for maintaining public order and providing security before, during and after elections, the success of these responsibilities depends significantly on the conduct and cooperation of all stakeholders.
“Political parties and their supporters must respect the law. Election officials must discharge their responsibilities professionally and impartially. Observers and monitors must operate within the limits of their mandates.
“The media must provide accurate, balanced and responsible information, while citizens must exercise their democratic rights peacefully and responsibly. Every stakeholder, therefore, has a role to play in ensuring that political competition does not translate into violence,” the CP added.
Also, the state Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, represented by his Special Adviser on Security, Olusola Subair, charged personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to uphold professionalism and neutrality in the discharge of their duties during elections.
He described security as a critical component of democracy, stressing that the conduct and reports of security personnel could significantly influence the electoral process.
Abiodun said the workshop was not merely a gathering for participants to interact, but an opportunity to equip security personnel with the knowledge required to effectively perform their responsibilities before, during and after elections.
According to him, “We all need to know that the police are a very important component of democracy. Without security, there can be no democracy. That is why it behooves us to have a gathering like this so that we can encourage, train and teach ourselves what to do before, during and after the elections.”
The governor urged the participants to leverage the knowledge gained at the workshop to ensure that the forthcoming elections in the state were peaceful, free, fair and acceptable to all.
Also, Professor of Communication, Chief Fassy Yusuf, who presented the lead paper at the workshop, maintained that elections measure a state’s democratic maturity and institutional resilience.
He submitted that the success of the 2027 general election in Ogun State depended on how effectively the police lead, coordinate and partner with state agencies, media, electoral authorities and civil societies.
Yusuf recommended that the Ogun State Police Command and the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security must operationalise provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 by establishing unified command protocols across all the 20 local government areas of the state before election day.