Troops Kill Four Notorious Bandits in Kaduna

Troops of one Division Nigerian army in Kaduna have reportedly killed four suspected bandits in Birnin Gwari local government area of state.

The troops, in collaboration with the air component of Operation Whirl Punch, raided the hideouts of the bandits in some communities in Birnin Gwari and Giwa LGAs.

This was revealed in a statement issued by Musa Yahaya the deputy director, army public relations of 1 Division.

According to him, the operation lasted for atleast 48 hours.

The troops were said to have destroyed several suspected bandits’ hideouts during the operation while several bandits fled with gunshot injuries.

Items recovered from the terrorists include one AK 47 rifle, 20 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and six motorcycles.

IGP SETS UP ELECTION MONITORING, EVALUATION AND SECURITY TEAM

In furtherance of the Inspector’s-General of Police drive for safe, secured, and credible general elections as well as ensure adequate security coverage before, during and after the 2023 general elections, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, has approved the setting up of an Election Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Team for deployment across the states of the federation, to identify, analyze and mitigate threats, as well as carry out on-the-spot assessment and appraisal of the security emplacements ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The IGP has similarly appointed the Vice President (INTERPOL) and Head, National Crime Bureau (NCB), AIG Garba Baba Umar, psc, as the National Coordinator of the team of experienced and seasoned Police Officers with vast knowledge in election security management, to be assisted by other team members including the AIG Force Secretary, AIG Habu Sani, CP Election Monitoring, CP Basil Idegwu, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi. The team also comprise 7 other Commissioners of Police, 15 Deputy Commissioners of Police, 30 Assistant Commissioners of Police, 30 Chief Superintendents of Police, and 16 Strategic Officers of other ranks.

The IGP, while reiterating the commitment of the Police to ensuring that the elections are safe, secure, credible, and in line with global best practices, tasked the team to, amongst other things, ensure the propriety of deployments, give real-time coverage of the electoral process, and safeguard against hostile external and internal influence using INTERPOL, anti-cybercrime and intelligence tools and assets of the Nigeria Police Force.

In the same vein, the IGP reaffirms the establishment and viability of the Electoral Offences Desks domiciled at the State Criminal Investigation Departments (SCID) of all commands across the nation headed by the Assistant Commissioners of Police in charge of the SCID. The Electoral Offences Desk is saddled with the responsibility of collating, investigating and prosecuting all matters relating to electoral offences nationwide.

The Inspector-General of Police, therefore, calls on well-meaning Nigerians, international communities, and all stakeholders to support the NPF teams in all areas, particularly on intelligence sharing and regular engagements, to achieve success in the 2023 General Elections.

INEC IS WORRIED ABOUT THE VOLUME OF LITIGATION INVOLVING THE COMMISSION

The Independent National Electoral Commission Professor Mahmood Yakubu says the electoral body will not engage the services of Vice Chancellors and members of the academic staff of universities who are members of any political party or has strong political views in favor of any candidate.

He also raised concerns about the volume of court cases involving INEC.

Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of INEC is a busy Man, He has been holding different high-level meetings with stakeholders critical to the success of the election.

This meeting with the vice-chancellors strengthens the collaboration with the academic staff of universities where INEC draws collation and returning officers to conduct the polls.
INEC says it will thoroughly scrutinize would-be ad hoc staff to ensure they are non-partisan and without blemish.

In a separate meeting with the Nigerian Bar association, The INEC Chairman raised concerns about the volume of pre-election cases in which the commission has been joined.
INEC has been dragged into, One thousand two hundred and, forty-one cases.
He wants the Nigerian Bar Association to facilitate a speedy hearing of these cases.

The Visiting lawyers promised to assist the electoral commission to protect its independence and partner to guarantee a free process.

According to INEC, The 2023 General Election will involve the highest number of registered voters in the history of democratic elections in Nigeria as The final register of voters now stands at 93,469,008.