POLLS :Police Warned To Be Impartial

Patience Ogbo Published: March 26, 2015

Police officers on election duty across the country have been urged to discharge their duty professionally or face disciplinary actions.
This warning was handed down during a one day Sensitization program on the “Mandate of the Police Service Commission and the need for accountability of police officers during the 2015 general elections” organized by the Police Service Commission in conjunction with CLEEN Foundation.
Retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Olufunlola Adekeye who is also the Commissioner 1 of the Police Service Commission while speaking at the event in Lagos said the role of the Police Service Commission and conduct of police officers on electoral duty cannot be overemphasised.
She said “The Police Service Commission is the conduit pipe between the police and the people and between the police and the police. It is charged with three responsibilities: recruitment, promotion and discipline;police officers on electoral duties have a responsibility of ensuring that peaceful elections are maintained at the polling and counting centres during elections and that citizens’ exercise of their franchise is carried out without fear of coercion, intimidation, violence or manipulation.
“To effectively discharge these duties, police officers must be alert, approachable, professional, impartial and fair.”
“Police officers on elections duty have a duty to co-operate and collaborate with the role players in the electoral process in order to ensure free, fair and credible elections. They are also expected to comply with lawful instructions by the presiding and returning officer.”
At the end of her presentations, participants raised salient questions on the elections, functioning of the Commission, leadership of the Commission, welfare of police officers, and working relationship between the Commission and the Ministry of Police Affairs. Participants enjoined the Commission to work with development partners to ensure effective service delivery and awareness.
Also speaking at the event, a member of CLEEN Foundation, Barbara Maigari, said that the importance of the sensitization is to engligten the public about police duties at every polling unit.
At the end of the event the Commissioner presented IEC materials and enjoined participants to contact any of the numbers in the poster as each state has a staff of the Commission that will be present during the elections.