Elections: We Won't Shoot Ballot Box Snatchers, IGP Declares

The Nigeria Police Force has said it would not shoot political thugs who snatch ballot boxes on election day, but would instead apprehend them and ensure that they are prosecuted in line with the relevant sections of the Electoral Act.

Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu stated this Friday in Abuja during a briefing with some stakeholders in the electoral space, organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC in Abuja.

“Maximum security is provided before, during and after the election. There will be at least three unarmed security personnel at the polling units while our patrol teams are armed to deal with those who may want to disrupt the process.

“In the course of voting, if any electoral offence is committed, we will work with the INEC officials to apprehend the culprit and we will set up an investigative team led by our Commissioner of Police in charge of Legal to investigate such cases and prosecute them.
 

Be it vote buying, ballot box snatching, thuggery, if you commit any of them, you will be arrested and prosecuted. In every country, there are laws guiding that country and every law abiding person in that country is expected to obey them. If you break the law, there should be consequences and the same thing applies here in Nigeria. So, do not engage in ballot box snatching. If you do that, there will be consequences”, he declared.