The Plateau State Commissioner of Police, Isaac Akinmoyede, on
Saturday said the Command restricted movement in the entire state during
the ongoing supplementary election in the state because it received
security reports that some people were bent on causing trouble at
polling units units were elections are being held cutting across nine
local government areas of the state.
Akinmoyede disclosed this when he spoke with journalists at Plateau
Hotel Junction Polling Unit (018) in Jos North LGA, where 853 registered
voters are expected to vote.
He said, “We have security reports that some people are held bent on
causing trouble at those few places elections are taking place.
“So it is better for us to sacrifice today and get what we want, than for us to say people should continue to move out.
According to him, if people are allowed to move about, some of them
might decide to move from where polls are not taking place to where
elections are being held and cause problem, “we don’t want that.
“Because of the security reports it behoves on us to take the right
decision than to allow things to happen before we start running
helter-scalter.
On the heavy presence of security operatives around polling units,
the CP said, “The security are here to ensure that everything is done in
an orderly manner; and they are here to give confidence to people that
they should come out and vote, they are symbols of authority and they
should be respected.
“People should not have any reason to fear in coming out to vote, and
that is why we are providing the conducive atmosphere, is in the INEC
guidelines.
He said the security operatives are not partisan and wouldn’t be,
adding that people have been commending them through the elections in
the state.
“All the security operatives are doing is also watching to see people
that with come out to cause problem and initiate arrest if need be,
they are not in anyway to interfere in the conduct of the polls.
He, however, said, based on the reports he has received and areas he
has visited, everything is going on peacefully, “and we hope that it
will be peaceful till the end”.
Meantime, election at the aforementioned polling unit and many others
where elections are being held commenced in good time, while the voter
turnout is said to be encouraging in some of the polling units.
According to the Presiding Officer of unit 018, David Terfa, they
have not had any challenge with the card reader, and everything is
moving smoothly.
