2027: Police train officers on election security in Niger

The Niger State Police Command has trained its officers on election security management, warning against partisan conduct, arbitrary arrests and interference in the electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The training, organised in collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was held on Thursday during the command’s end-of-month conference at the Police Officers’ Mess, Dutsen-Kura, Minna.

INEC State Training Officer, Dauda Haruna, said officers must remain professional and impartial while protecting voters, candidates, party agents and electoral officials.

Speaking on professionalism, accountability and credible elections, Haruna stressed the need for officers to enforce electoral laws, make lawful arrests, preserve evidence and document electoral offences.

He cautioned personnel against provocative conduct and actions based on rumours or unverified allegations, urging them to verify claims of misconduct before taking action.

The INEC official also urged officers to de-escalate tensions at polling units, prevent clashes between opposing groups and respect the rights of all electoral participants.

He clarified that the inspection and verification of electoral materials remained the responsibility of INEC and its authorised representatives, while police personnel were expected to provide security within their assigned mandates.

The training also covered electoral offences and penalties under the Electoral Act 2026, alongside procedures for managing misconduct at polling units.

Haruna highlighted the use of Registration Area Centres, RACs, and Super RACs to reduce delays in transporting electoral materials. He also introduced the Collation Support Result Verification System, CSRVS, designed to identify errors during the collation of election results.

In his remarks, the Commissioner of Police, Adamu Abdullahi Elleman, assured INEC of the command’s continued support for peaceful and credible elections.

Elleman said continuous training was essential to improving officers’ professionalism, adding that a team sponsored by the Nigeria Police Trust Fund would visit the command to provide further training on election security.

He also directed officers to intensify surveillance patrols, strengthen intelligence gathering and provide security for political campaigns. He further instructed them to ensure that campaign activities were promptly reported.