The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 6 Division, Nigerian Army, and Land Component Commander, Joint Task Force South-South Operation Delta Safe, Major General Everest Okoro, has charged security agencies to remain apolitical, neutral and strictly adhere to their rules of conduct and rules of engagement during the election process.
Okoro gave the charge during the second edition of the Operation Safe Conduct Sensitization Lecture organised by the 6 Division Garrison in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The sensitisation programme was attended by representatives of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The lecture featured presentations on the Code of Conduct and Rules of Engagement for Armed Forces of Nigeria Personnel During Elections, the Roles and Conduct of Security Agencies During General Elections from a Legal Perspective, and the Roles and Conduct of Security Agencies During General Elections from the perspective of INEC and the electorate.
Represented by the Chief of Staff, 6 Division, Brigadier General Emmanuel Adamu, Major General Okoro said the annual programme was designed to ensure a safe and secure environment during elections.
He said the initiative was also aimed at supporting the police, which remains the lead security agency for election security, including the protection of votes, election materials and electoral officials.
“It is an annual event designed to ensure safe and secured environment in every election, and it is aimed at supporting the police which is the lead agency to protect votes, election materials as well as officials,” he said.
The GOC emphasised that troops deployed for election duties must remain apolitical and neutral while complying with established rules of conduct and, particularly, the rules of engagement.
“In doing this, troops are charged to remain apolitical and neutral as it was earlier highlighted by our Chief Host. Troops must also follow specific rule of conduct and most especially, rules of engagement during the process,” he said.
He urged participants to take the sensitisation lecture seriously, noting that the knowledge gained would guide their operations and conduct during the forthcoming elections.
The Commander, 6 Division Garrison, Brigadier General Abubakar Bello, said the decision to extend the sensitisation programme to other security agencies was based on the need to improve inter-agency cooperation and ensure that personnel understood their respective roles and boundaries during elections.
Bello, who was the Chief Host of the event, said the first edition of the programme was held in April and was limited to personnel within the barracks.
Read Also: professor-odu-calls-for-bold-engineering-to-unlock-value-in-blue-economy
He explained that discussions with other commanders after the first session led to the decision to invite representatives of sister agencies and other relevant stakeholders to the second edition.
“Earlier this year, precisely in April, we had the first session of this lecture, but that was just limited and restricted to us here in the barracks,” he said.
“After that lecture, we had discussion with other commanders and we saw the need to expand these lectures and that’s why we decided to invite each and every stakeholder here today, for the purpose of brainstorming and listening to the lectures.
”According to Bello, the programme was designed to ensure that participating agencies understand where they need to synergise, their respective dos and don’ts, as well as the limits of their responsibilities during the electoral process.“It’s for each and everyone of us to know where we will synergise together, to know our dos and don’ts, to know our limits,” he said.
The Garrison Commander stressed the importance of properly briefing troops before deploying them for election duties to prevent personnel from exceeding their operational boundaries.
“We don’t want a situation where we will want troops to be out during election without talking to them, without telling them their boundaries, and that is the sole purpose of this programme,” he said. Bello disclosed that the sensitisation programme is expected to have three sessions.
While the first was held in April and the second during the current engagement, he said the third session is expected to take place in December.He expressed appreciation to the participating agencies for taking time out of their schedules to attend the programme and encouraged participants to ask questions, make contributions and seek clarification on issues they were uncertain about.
The Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem, also commended the initiative, saying there was a need for greater synergy between INEC and security agencies on election duties and security.
Sinikiem said the sensitisation was particularly timely, coming about four months before the elections, and would help security personnel better understand their responsibilities during the electoral process.“It is great because we have to have this kind of synergy to sensitise the security agencies on their roles in election duties and election security,” he said.
He described the initiative by the 6 Division Garrison as timely and appropriate, adding that it would contribute to professionalism among security personnel deployed for election duties.“So it is very apt that we are having about four months or thereabout to elections and the Garrison of 6 Div. have been able to put together these kind of sensitisation lecture,” he said.
The REC said the engagement would help security agencies understand how to conduct themselves professionally on election day and ensure that their activities remain within the established legal and operational framework.
The Operation Safe Conduct sensitisation programme is part of efforts to strengthen collaboration among security agencies, INEC, and other stakeholders ahead of elections, with an emphasis on professionalism, neutrality, respect for the electoral process, and adherence to established rules of engagement.
