The Nigeria Police Force has warned presidential candidates of all political parties to caution their party stalwarts and supporters to avoid making inciting comments capable of unnecessarily heating up the polity and creating undue excitement amongst the electorate and the general populace.
The warning was issued with special reference to the Labour Party, LP; All Progressives Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, among others.
The warning was issued in a statement signed by the spokesman of the Nigeria Police Force, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, on Monday.
The spokesman said the warning was in furtherance of the close monitoring of the ongoing 2023 electoral exercise, and consequent upon a series of intelligence reports, and high expectations from all angles.
The statement reads in part:
“The NPF, having assessed the trend of scaled-up expectations and psychological projections on the ongoing electoral process viz-a-viz collation of results, charges all presidential candidates, as leading and respected figures in their respective political parties, to seize the opportunity of this waiting period to emphasize the rule of law, respect for the Constitution, and constituted authority amongst their supporters, as we all owe a duty to ensure that the nation does not fall into anarchy on the basis of interests and sentiments.
“The Force similarly reiterates the need to desist from mounting undue pressure on the electoral process viz-a-viz the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the body which is constitutionally mandated with the conduct of elections and announcement of results, as all hands are on deck to speedily conclude collation of results and declare the winner.
“While commending the general populace and electorate for their patience thus far and largely lawful conduct around the country, the Police, therefore, encourages presidential candidates to admonish their supporters to uphold the tenets of the Peace Accord recently signed for the smooth conduct of the 2023 general elections.”
