Ibrahim Idris Says Police Is Ready For Coming Elections

The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, said the police are ready for the 2019 general election. This he revealed in Lagos on Thursday after the public presentation of his book titled: Security and Justice: The pathway for peace and reconciliation in Nigeria.

The book which has 292-page and 18 chapters respectively proffers solutions to violence, corruption and other societal menace.

The elections are scheduled to hold in February and March 2019.

“We have the men and we have the materials (logistics) to carry out our duties successfully before, during and after the elections,” he said.

He also said that the police have curtailed the recent challenges of herdsmen/ farmers cashes in Benue State. However, he stressed that there was need for justice and reconciliation to ensure meaningful development.

“The challenges we are having with these herdsmen have gone down. In Benue, we have 15 units on ground and I have been monitoring their successes.

“I was in Benue and we have been having stakeholders’ meetings and we have been discussing.

“Based on that, people have been coming openly to state their problems and it is through this that we can understand each other and reconcile our differences,” Mr. Idris said

“The role of traditional rulers in this reconciliation process cannot be over-emphasised because most of them have the ears of their people. When you have political disagreement in these communities, these traditional rulers are handy,” he added.

Mr. Idris said proceeds from the book sales would be used to fund the Security and Justice Initiative, a foundation being established for the promotion of peace, security and reconciliation in Nigeria.

“I have watched with troubled heart the security challenges confronting this country. The challenges of Boko Haram in the North East, kidnappings and armed robberies, cattle rustling and militancy in virtually all parts of Nigeria.

“The farmers/herders clashes, assassination for various reasons, conflicts among the divergent communities, which often take dangerous dimensions and occur along the fault lines of ethnic, religious, regional and political differences.

“These challenges if not properly managed at the pace we are going, coupled with inflammatory and inciting statements will tear this country apart and drag us into unending crises.

“It is my conviction that when there is security, justice, peace and reconciliation in any nation, civil strife will be avoided. The civil war of 1967 to 1970 perhaps turned out as the first major and catostrophic crisis in the record of our national experience.

“This civil war occurred based on perceived ethnic and political differences and a feeling of injustice,” Mr. Idris said.