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| Suleiman Abba, IGP |
Suleiman Abba, inspector-general of police (IGP), is insisting
that Nigerian voters have to ‘go home and cool down’ after casting
their ballots on Saturday.
Abba caused controversy
when he said at the briefing of accredited
election observers in Abuja last week that voters should go home
after voting instead of waiting at polling units to “protect their votes”.
He had vowed to deal
with anyone who breached the peace.
TheCable report continues:
On the basis of that,
the All Progressives Congress (APC), released a statement urging its members
and supporters to disregard the warning.
But at the National
Stakeholders’ Summit on the 2015 general election in Abuja on Tuesday, Abba
reiterated his call on all voters to head for their homes after casting their
votes.
“I advise voters, for
the security of the elections, that after voting, they should go home,” he
said.
Abba hinged his advice
on Section 129 of the Electoral Act, which stipulates required conduct at
polling units during elections.
“This advice is from
what I observed from the provisions of the Electoral Act, Section 129 in
particular, which list nine offences that could be committed at the polling
unit,” he added.
He also advised
political leaders to cast their votes and leave, instead of campaigning at the
polling units.
Abba said that
there would restriction of movement across the country between 8am and 5pm on
the election day.
He also identified some of
the causes of election violence, noting that partisanship and high-handedness
of the policemen were some of the triggers, but he promised that the
police had taken measures to ensure that threats to elections and violence are
mitigated.
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