The Edo Civil Society Organisations Friday urged the security agencies deployed to conduct the September 21 governorship election in the state to maintain a high sense of neutrality before, during, and after the election.
The group made the call during a rally at the Edo State Police Command headquarters and the Department of State Services (DSS) office in Benin, respectively.
Addressing the Commissioner of Police, CP Nemi Edwin-Iwo, at the state command on what they tagged “Security agencies stay neutral in this Edo guber election #eyesontheball”, the Coordinator-General of the group, Leftist Omobude Agho, said that the governorship election is very important to the people of the state, stressing that the police and its sister agencies must do all in their powers to restrain themselves from being used by one political party to intimidate others.
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Leftist Agho said the undue harassment and intimidation of other political opponents by security agencies under the influence of one political party would discourage potential voters from coming out to exercise their franchise on election day.
He said the state had been very peaceful not until the ugly incident that happened at the Benin airport, where a police officer was shot dead.
Agho added that the people of the state would want to count votes and not the number of deaths in the election and that the police can do that by playing by the rules of the game.
On the part of the state Commissioner of Police, CP Nemi Edwin-Iwo, he said the police under his watch would always remain neutral as they don’t belong to any political parties.
“I want to assure you and reassure you that we are neutral. Nigeria Police and other security agencies, we are neutral. And we are going to make sure that this election is conducted in a very peaceful environment”, Edwin-Iwo said.
He said he had conducted elections in other states and that there were no issues raised, noting that he is willing to replicate the same in the state.
“We have conducted elections in so many states.
“I have conducted in Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa, the records are there. We are very neutral, and we came out without blemishes.
“Whatever they are saying is their own because we have a focus to make sure that this election is properly conducted.
“Yes, police and other security agencies have their shortcomings, but I am telling you that before the election, everything is going to be streamlined.
“So, I am assuring you again that we are neutral and I am going to ask you to support me to make sure everything goes on successfully”, Edwin-Iwo said.
The Commissioner of Police further appealed to the civil society group to help sensitize the members of the public to come out in large numbers to cast their votes for their preferred candidate.
He said the police can only arrest those who are involved in crimes.
“Please help me tell the people of the state to come out and vote.
Tell them to do the right thing, and if you do the right thing, nobody is going to arrest you. If you watch well, most of you who are members of the civil society activists, nobody is arrested, but that doesn’t mean if you commit a crime, we will not arrest you.
“We have not arrested you, but if you commit a crime, we will arrest you, and it is not because you are at a party or whatever it is.
“We don’t know political parties, and what we know is that, do the right thing, obey the law”, Edwin-Iwo said.
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