By Bashir Mohammed
Kano
As the much-awaited local government council elections in Kano state draw near, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Aderenle Shinaba, has warned politicians to desist from acts capable of breaching the peace.
He gave the warning at a stakeholders’ meeting in Kano, saying that the state police command had put its house in order and that officers who would be deployed to various polling units were fully conversant with the operational guidelines put in place and the implication of professional misconduct.
He said: “We would keep our teeth crossed and eyes dotted. We know what it takes to maintain law and order. No politicians would be allowed to breach peace and go scot free.”
He said the politicians must play their game according to the rules, stressing that inciting youths to resort to violence was a bad omen for democracy.
He, however, stated that the Kano Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) was also expected to do what was right as an impartial arbiter, affirming that with sincerity of purpose the goal of conducting free and fair election would be achieved.
He said journalists covering the election would be fully protected if they were properly accredited, adding that “it is part of the responsibility of the police to protect the press.”