The Force also said a Deputy Inspector-General of Police would coordinate the security operations for the poll, while helicopters and drones would be deployed for aerial and area surveillance before, during and immediately after the election.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on the police preparations for the governorship election.
Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Alliance and the African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salaam, are among the leading contenders for the state’s top political office.
Iniedu said the police began deploying personnel and resources for the election three weeks before the poll, adding that the arrangements were designed to provide security across the state’s 30 local government areas.
According to him, more than 15,000 police operatives would be deployed for election duties, while a police helicopter and drone unit had already arrived in the state to support surveillance operations.
He further disclosed that two units of the Police Mobile Force, each comprising more than 60 personnel, had been deployed to the state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Osogbo.
Similarly, he said each of the 30 local government areas in the state would have a unit of the Police Mobile Force to strengthen security during the election.
“We have deployed armed mobile policemen to every local government area in the state. So, we have 30 units across 30 local government areas. A unit is about 60 policemen.
“We also have two units of armed mobile policemen attached to the Independent National Electoral Commission headquarters in Osogbo here. The men who stay at the local government areas are being coordinated by a Commissioner of Police. There is a Commissioner of Police in each Local Government Area.
“We also have a Deputy Commissioner of Police in each Local Government Area, as well as a Mobile Police Commander and a PMF commander with the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police in each Local Government Area.
“As of Thursday, our helicopters and drone units have arrived in Osogbo, and they will be conducting area surveillance from now, during and immediately after the elections.”
The Force PRO also said the Army would cordon off border routes leading into Osun State from midnight on Saturday as part of measures to restrict movement during the election.
“We will be locking down the state. We will not be allowing any vehicular movement apart from those on essential duty, security duties and those going to cast their franchise,” he said.
Iniedu urged parents to caution their children and wards against engaging in electoral offences during the poll.
He specifically mentioned offences such as intimidation, stalking, vote-buying and ballot-box snatching, warning that anyone involved in such acts would face the consequences under the law.
He also disclosed that a mobile court would be available to handle cases involving persons arrested for alleged electoral offences.
Asked about the details of the firearms recovered from suspected hoodlums in the state, Iniedu said the police were yet to collate specific details of the weapons but had so far recovered about 34 illegal firearms.
“We don’t have specific details about the guns we have mopped up, but I know that in Osun State, so far, we have mopped up about 34 illegal firearms, and investigations are ongoing.”
