Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps on Friday said it would deploy 9, 747 personnel drawn from FCT, Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Kogi, Kwara and Edo commands to provide security during Saturday’s Ekiti governorship election.
Out of the number, 160 armed all-female squad would also be deployed to ensure resistance of any form of violence, intimidation and abuse against women involved in the political process.
Addressing personnel at the NSCDC headquarters in Ado Ekiti before they move to their respective places of deployment, Acting Deputy Commandant-General of Operations, Lawal Haruna, also disclosed that some flash points have already been identified.
Haruna said that information regarding violence-prone areas have been shared with other security agencies involved in the election, adding that two personnel of the corp would be in each polling unit across the state.
He then warned the personnel to be apolitical and discharge their duties with high level professionalism and specifically told those carrying arms among them not to go near polling units, except they were called.
He said, “we have idea of flash points. What we are doing is to work with other security agencies. We share the information with other security agencies.
“Those flash points are our target and we have enough deployment to those areas even before any problem will arise.
“We are working with other security agencies, most especially the lead agency (the police). It is not only Civil Defence that would deploy.
“In each polling unit we are deploying not less than 2 officers, but if we need more, we will deploy more. In all, we are deploying 9, 747. Those officers will also be deployed to critical infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, a combined team of security agencies on Friday engaged in show of force across major areas within Ado Ekiti metropolis.
The team which lined up two Armoured Personnel Carrier and 13 trucks conveying men of Nigerian Army, police and NSCDC operatives, were sighted along Ado Ekiti/Ikere round around 12:45 on Friday.
