Published 26th Oct, 2021

By Gabriel Ogunjobi

Joseph Egbunike, a Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), has been deployed to Anambra State in the capacity of the coordinator of the state’s security ahead of the gubernatorial election slated for November 6.

Egbunike was the head of the Police Special Investigations Panel that examined Abba Kyari’s indictment in a recent FBI report on fraud conspiracy.

A recent FIJ report revealed that the DIG has a history of human rights violations and contempt of court.

FIJ had also exclusively reported how the DIG, in his former role as Commissioner of Police in charge of budget and finance at the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, joined other police chiefs to approve more than N1 billion for sham police transit camps project in Benue, Bauchi, Plateau, Katsina and Kano State.

In a press statement signed and released by Frank Mba, the force’s Public Relations Officer, on Tuesday, Usman Baba Alkali, the IGP, “saddled Egbunike with the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the operation order (which) evolved from the Election Security Threat Assessment to ensure a peaceful environment devoid of violence and conducive enough to guarantee that law-abiding citizens freely perform their civic responsibilities without molestation or intimidation”.

Egbunike would be assisted by Zaki Ahmed, the DIG in charge of operations.

Five Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, 14 Commissioners of Police, 31 Deputy Commissioners of Police and 48 Assistant Commissioners of Police will also be deployed to Anambra as strategic commanders.

The statement added,“The Senior Officers are to coordinate human and other operational deployments in the three (3) Senatorial Districts, twenty-one (21) Local Government Areas and the 5720 polling units in Anambra State”.

While encouraging the voters in Anambra to turn out to exercise their right, Alkali said the police would work with “the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and all stakeholders to protect democratic values, provide a level playing field for all political actors; ensure adequate protection of voters, INEC personnel and equipment, accredited observers and other key players in Anambra State”.

On Monday, FIJ exclusively gathered that the police had placed the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its combat arm, Eastern Security Network (ESN) on their watch list as a major threat to the election.

The 25-page operation order obtained by FIJ also revealed how over 4,000 police personnel would be deployed across all the polling units before and after the election.

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