 were arrested by the police operatives in Bauchi during the bye elections of two state constituencies at Zaki){kind=link}
By; Mohammed Kawu, Bauchi
No fewer than fourty-seven (47) were arrested by the police operatives in Bauchi during the bye elections of two state constituencies at Zaki and Disina Local Government Area of the state, with the culprits claiming to be state-owned security outfit.
The arrest of the suspects came on the wheel of an earlier earning by the commissioner of the state police command, CP Sani-Omolori Aliyu against contravening of the Electoral Act, and the security directive against any act capable of disrupting the exercise.
It could be recalled that the Sakwa state constituency seat occupant was said to have sometimes early this year passed to the great beyond, while the legislator representing the Disina state abandoned the State Assembly only to contest the Shira Local Government Council chairmanship seat and eventually won in the elections conducted recently.
The police wondered that despite the earlier warning operatives of the Command deployed for election duty Saturday, 19th September, 2026, in Disina State Constituency, Shira LGA, arrested fourty seven (47) operatives, claiming to be state-owned security outfit who were found within polling units.
A statement by the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Nafi’u Habib recalled that after the arrest the suspects were found to have been armed with guns, cutlasses and sticks, in contravention of the Electoral Act and the security directives earlier issued to the public domain.
The suspects were immediately after the arrest taken into custody, where exhibits including firearms and other dangerous weapons, were recovered from them, following which the State Commissioner of Police, CP Sani-Omolori Aliyu condemned the blatant disregard for lawful directives and attempt to undermine the electoral process.
CP Aliyu directed that the suspects be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Bauchi, for discreet investigation and prosecution in accordance with the law, and reiterated the Command’s commitment to ensuring a peaceful, credible and hitch-free bye-election, warning that any person or group, regardless of status, who attempts to disrupt the electoral process or cause breach of peace will be decisively dealt with.
It could also be recalled the Command in the earlier warning stated unequivocally that state-owned security outfits, quasi-security agencies, private security guards and vigilante groups are not allowed to participate in election security, as only statutorily recognized security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) are mandated to provide security for the exercise.
The Command had reiterated its commitment to ensuring a peaceful, credible and hitch-free bye-election and warned that any person or group, regardless of status, who attempts to disrupt the electoral process or cause breach of peace will be decisively dealt with.
Similarly recalling it’s earlier arrest of operatives claiming to be members of a state-owned security outfit at polling units in Disina Constituency today, the State Police Command inform the public of another breakthrough in its efforts to ensure a peaceful bye-election, where a separate intelligence-led operation within Disina State Constituency, Shira LGA, operatives attached to the election security deployment intercepted and arrested four (4) suspects who were on illegal election duty.
According to another press statement also signed by the Command’s PPRO the four arrested suspects were heavily armed at a polling unit in contravention of the Electoral Act, found in possession of eight (8) firearms and other incriminating items that included Five AK-47 rifles, One G3 rifle, One pistol, and One long-range tear gas/smoke gun launcher and a sharp knife.
Preliminary investigation reveals that the suspects were mobilized to disrupt the electoral process and cause breach of peace in the area”, the statement said, when the State Commissioner of Police, CP Sani-Omolori Aliyu ordered that the suspects and exhibits be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Bauchi for discreet investigation and prosecution.
He explained that the ban on non-statutory security outfits and armed persons at polling units remains in force and warned that henceforth anyone found violating the Electoral Act or attempting to subvert the democratic process will be arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.
The Commissioner who conducted an on-the-spot assessment of security deployment for the bye-elections in the two state constituencies of Sakwa and Disina of Zaki and Shirya LGAs of the state respectively, was accompanied by some operational officers, visited polling units, collation centres and identified flashpoints across the two constituencies.
CP Sani-Omolori expressed satisfaction with the level of deployment and the professionalism, alertness and non-partisanship displayed by officers and men on election duty. He commended them for their dedication to ensuring a peaceful, credible and hitch-free exercise.
He also interacted with INEC officials, election observers, party agents and voters, who expressed confidence in the security arrangements put in place by the Police and other sister security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
According to him, the Command remained resolute and apolitical in its mandate to protect lives and property, and to provide a level playing ground for all political parties, and appreciates the people of Disina and Sakwa Constituencies for their peaceful conduct and cooperation with security agencies, as urged them to sustain same and remain law-abiding.
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