Abiodun Alabi, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, charged political parties on Tuesday to avoid electoral violence by following the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 in the upcoming general election.
Alabi made the remarks at a “Stakeholders Meeting on Election Security” hosted by the Lagos State Police Command in the state’s Ikeja district.
The meeting of stakeholders included state security agents’ heads, representatives from political parties, officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission, and police, among others.
Alabi explained that people’s trust in the value of their vote was primarily dependent on the security and resilience of the infrastructure that enabled the country’s elections.
“A free and fair election is the hallmark of democracy, and we, as critical stakeholders in the provision of security during the elections, have the responsibility to ensure that it is conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner devoid of rancour, malevolence, brigandage, and thuggery.
“To achieve this, we urge the leadership of all political parties to re-dedicate themselves to undertaking their campaigns and electoral activities within the dictates of the Electoral Act 2022.
“In the same vein, during this electoral process, the police request the political actors gathered here to pledge to denounce electoral violence, hate speech, and other negative tendencies before, during, and after the votes,” Alabi said.
Speaking further, the CP said political violence, hate speech, threats, political intolerance, misinformation, and political extremism are potent threats to democracy and national security.
He said, “I, therefore, challenge the leadership of political parties and candidates, who are critical gatekeepers of our democracy, to demonstrate purposeful and patriotic leadership that will guarantee a peaceful electoral process and to develop a culture of political tolerance and display of political maturity by allowing healthy competition among themselves.”