The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, says the Nigeria Police Force is fully prepared to secure the 2027 general elections, insisting the force could step up to the task even if Nigerians went to the polls straight away.
According to Naija News, the IGP made the pledge on Tuesday in Abuja while receiving a delegation headed by Dr Leonardo Simao, who serves as the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel.
What the IGP said
Disu told his visitors that the police had already mapped out likely security threats ahead of the vote and were getting officers ready to deal with them. Training of personnel, he said, is already under way.
Speaking with confidence about the state of preparations, the police chief said: "So far so good, we are not afraid. We are confident that even if the elections start tomorrow, the Nigerian Police Force is ready to do what is expected of the force."
He went on: "We are ever ready to go, and we want to assure you that Nigerians will not be disappointed with the activities of the Nigerian Police Force in the election."
Not a one-agency job
The IGP stressed that no single organisation can guarantee a safe election on its own, which is why the police have been holding joint meetings and shared training sessions with sister security bodies.
Among the agencies he named as partners in the preparations were the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Attention to voters with disabilities
Disu also said the training goes beyond crowd control and threat response. Officers, he explained, are being taught how to serve every voter, with special focus on persons living with disabilities, including how to identify them at polling points and the right way to help them through the voting process.
Why the UN came calling
Before the IGP spoke, Simao had raised concerns about the tension that usually accompanies elections. He noted that fierce political rivalry and high emotions can spill into violence when they are not well handled, and described election-related violence as a serious worry across West Africa and beyond.
The UN envoy urged all stakeholders to make sure the contest for power does not endanger Nigeria's peace and stability, and pointed out that the police carry a key responsibility for keeping order in the periods before, during and after voting.
It was against that backdrop that Simao asked Disu to brief the delegation on how ready Nigeria is for 2027 and what part the police plan to play in delivering a peaceful exercise, prompting the IGP's assurance.
Details of the specific security challenges the police say they have identified, and the scale of the training programme, were not disclosed in the report.
