The Department of State Services (DSS) has alerted the public of orchestrated plans by some persons to cause a total breakdown of law and order in the country shortly after the March 18, 2023 Gubernatorial and State House Assembly elections.
In a statement by Peter Afunanya, Public Relations Officer, DSS, he drew attention to the unnecessary palpable political tension in parts of the country prior to the elections under reference.
“It is observed that some of the players are at daggers drawn with one another. The development holds dire consequences for national peace and stability.
“It is in view of these that the service warns politicians and their supporters to engage constructively. Everyone is advised to shun fake news, hate speech and such other utterances that may be inimical to peaceful co-existence.
“Election should not be seen as a do or die affair. There is no basis for anyone to take laws into their hands. This is even more so that aggrieved persons can take advantage of our courts and seek redress. We should have faith in our institutions”, DSS said.
He said over this election period, the service has remained committed to providing conducive environment for a peaceful exercise, noting that in this regard, it separately and in collaboration with sister agencies, carried out mop up operations to thwart nefarious plans and activities of undesirable elements to out rightly undermine the electoral processes.
“For hitch-free Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections, the service has partnered with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the required peace is maintained before, during and after the exercises.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the service will work to make sure that no person or group, no matter how highly placed disrupts the scheduled elections in any part of the federation. It is committed to the safety and security of citizens who may wish to go out to exercise their civic responsibility. All and sundry are, therefore, enjoined to abide by the rules of engagement particularly the Electoral Act and extant guidelines”, he said.
Similarly, the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Hafiz Inuwa, has said the police will be ruthless with “anybody who decides to test our collective responsibility as a nation”.
DIG Inuwa, who is in charge of Training, Force Headquarters, Abuja, and the North Western geopolitical zone of Nigeria, stated this to journalists after his meeting with political party leaders and other stakeholders at the police officers mess on Wednesday in Kaduna.
“We will not allow misconduct, we will be ruthless to anybody who decides to test our collective responsibility as a nation.
“We will be ruthless to anybody or group of people we see carrying arms, if anybody or group is caught, they will have themselves to blame,” he warned.
He quoted the Inspector General (IG) of Police as having instructed them to go around and sue for peace, especially at such a critical period when gubernatorial elections would hold in a few days.
He noted that they would meet with critical stakeholders such as politicians, religious leaders and journalists, among others, to sue for peace in the country.
He added that the police have put in place strategies to ensure peaceful conduct of the gubernatorial elections.
“Additional policemen have been posted to Kaduna in order to provide more security for the conducts of the elections,” he said.
Inuwa further said, “Nigeria belongs to all of us and it is our civic responsibility to ensure that it remains peaceful by coexisting and cohabiting together as one indivisible Nigeria.”
The DIG assured Nigerians that their rights to vote would not be tampered with, pledging to provide the enabling environment for peace to enable them to exercise their franchise
