Polls: Security beef up in Delta

Security has been beefed up in Delta State, ahead of tomorrow’s presidential and National Assembly elections. 

 

Police officers and other security operatives were seen in strategic positions, perhaps to forestall breakdown of law and order before, during and after the elections. 

 

Contacted on the security beef up in the state, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Usman Akali, said 11,000 police officers have been deployed in the state for the elections.

He said that 4,000 men were also deployed from the Federal Road Safety Commission, Immigration Service and Civil Defence Corps to assist the police in providing security for the period of the election, adding that the military would also assist from the outside.

Explaining that the soldiers would only be called in when there is serious security challenge, he said only statutory security agencies would be used in the elections. He ruled out the use of vigilante groups during the elections. He added that security personnel deployed in the polling units will fall back to collations centres at the end of the voting exercise He disclosed that security officers and materials would be moved to registration centres today and expressed the readiness of the police and other security agencies to protect lives and property of Deltans.