The Police Service Commission, PSC, will deploy Staff Monitors to the 774 local government areas of the country to monitor the conduct of police officers on election duties during the 2023 general elections holding Saturday, February 25 and March 11, 2023.
The Head, Press and Public Relations of the PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, made this known in a statement on Wednesday.
The commission, a federal executive body, has the constitutional mandate to discipline, and exercise control over officers of the Nigeria Police Force except the Inspector General of Police, amongst other constitutional responsibilities.
Ani said the commission would monitor the conduct of the officers to ensure that they operated within defined rules of engagement prescribed for officers on election duties.
The commission, he said, believed that the success or not of the 2023 general elections would largely depend on how effective and efficient the police, the lead agency in internal security are, and to maximize the benefits of inter-agency collaboration with sister security agencies.
Guidelines on police conduct during the elections, he said, would soon be released by the commission to guide policemen who would be involved in election security.
The commission, the spokesman added, would also release dedicated telephone numbers where Nigerians would be required to call to complain or commend Police officers during the elections.
Police officers found negligent or outrightly involved in official misconduct would be disciplined in line with the provisions of the law, the spokesman said.
He added: “Police officers are advised to restrict themselves to providing security during the elections and should not engage in serving as conductors for vote buying or other misconducts.
“The commission will continue to hold the Police accountable for its conduct or misconduct during the elections as its contribution to deepening the nation’s democracy.”
