Police Inspector-General, Kayode Egbetokun, has described as baseless and unfair the allegations that the police encourage election malpractices in the country.
He made the stout defence of his officers and men, and police authorities against the allegation, at the third National Democracy Stakeholders Summit in Abuja on Monday.
Nevertheless, he said that the police would continue to remain impartial during elections.
Egbetokun, who was rRepresented by the Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory, Adewale Ajaodun, declared that the police would not, under any circumstances, deviate from their primary roles of maintaining law and order during the electoral process, emphasising that the police neither count votes nor officiate as umpires.
His words, “The idea that the police are involved in rigging is pure imagination.
“We are not partisans—we are not umpires. We don’t count votes; we only monitor the process while INEC does the collation of results”.
The defence came against the backdrop of counter accusations by the opposition and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of using the police to carry out widespread irregularities during the 2023 general election.
In fact, Presidential candidates Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar rejected the results, citing massive rigging during separate post-election press briefings.
But Egbetokun maintained that his officers and men are undergoing continuous training to keep them aligned with democratic standards, and now operate with renewed inter-agency synergy, including with INEC, civil society organisations, and the media.
He said, “We have renewed inter-agency synergy, including with INEC, civil society organisations, and the media.
“Our officers are undergoing continuous training to keep them aligned with democratic standards. I believe the results are becoming evident in off-cycle elections”.
