Soldiers ’ll Be Deployed For Polls On Request –DHQ

The Defence Headquarters has said soldiers will be deployed to complement the police duties in the Kogi and Bayelsa states’ elections, if there is any such call from the police authorities.
The Kogi and Bayelsa elections will hold on November 16, with the police set to deploy 66,241 men to provide security during the exercises.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, had confirmed the figure last Friday at a meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abuja.
The IGP said, “The police as the lead agency for internal security is ready for the election in Bayelsa and Kogi states. We are aware of the security challenges in the two states and we have made adequate provisions in terms of personnel and logistics to tackle any security challenge we might face.
“In Bayelsa, we are deploying 31,041 personnel to cover the election; in Kogi, we are deploying 35,200 personnel. The personnel will cover every terrain in both states, no tout will be allowed in to disrupt the election, all those areas will be manned.”
The Acting Director, Defence Information, Col Onyema Nwachukwu, said in an interview with our correspondent that military personnel would be deployed only as requested by the police.
He said, “The security architecture of providing security for an election is first for the police. The police are the lead agency.
“If they feel overwhelmed, or feel they need the support of the military, then they will get across to us and we will be willing to provide it. Whatever we are going to be doing will be complementary to their efforts.”