Sam Philip
In about six days to Ondo State off-circle gubernatorial election, the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi has ordered the deployment of 6000 Officers and Men to provide adequate Security before, during and after the November 16, poll.
CG Audi said the NSCDC is fully ready to ensure free, fair and credible elections noting that the Corps would deploy personnel from neighbouring states such as Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo Osun, Lagos, Edo, and Delta, amongst others.
In a statement signed by National Public Relations Officer of the formation, CSC Babawale Afolabi, the Commandant General said: “In this election, the NSCDC have vital roles to play by ensuring the protection of all Critical National Assets and Infrastructure across the State; providing security for INEC officials and ad hoc staff, safeguarding the movements of election materials and its distribution both on land and in the coastal towns and overall monitoring of election process till the results are announced”.
“Our men would be on ground for security coverage both on land and the coastal towns across all the 18 Local Government Areas, the 203 Wards, and 3933 Polling Units in the entire State.
‘The personnel drawn from the host State, neighbouring states and the National Headquarters comprises: Special Female Squad, Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), Agro Rangers Unit, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives Unit (CBRNE), K-9 Unit, Marine Unit, CG’s Mining Marshall, Election Monitoring Unit (EMU) as well as the Intelligence and Investigation Department”.
“There are comprehensive and strategic measures already put in place which are targeted towards forestalling all forms of political violence and thuggery before, during and after the elections”.
“It is highly imperative that you work in collaboration with the Nigeria Police, which is the lead agency in election security. Notably, effective collaboration is unavoidable as this would enhance a successful election process; hence, all officers must be professional and disciplined as they interface with the public and other sister agencies.”