President Bola Tinubu and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma have urged the Nigeria Police Force to maintain professionalism, neutrality and public confidence ahead of the 2027 general elections.
They spoke at the opening of the 2026 Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers in Owerri, where Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu also warned officers against compromising their impartiality.
The three-day event, themed “Developing a Nigeria Police Roadmap for Effective Management of Security during Elections,” brought together senior police officers and representatives of other security and law-enforcement agencies.
Representing Tinubu, Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume said election security went beyond protecting ballot papers and polling stations.
He said the police had a responsibility to protect voters, electoral officials, candidates, election materials and the broader environment in which political activity takes place.
The President’s message stressed that the 2027 elections would require careful preparation, intelligence-led operations, professionalism, inter-agency coordination and impartiality.
Tinubu also urged the police to improve response times, deepen community engagement and make greater use of technology.
“The police must be seen not as an instrument of political interest, but as a national institution serving the Nigerian people and protecting the constitutional order,” he said through his representative.
Uzodimma similarly urged the force to strengthen intelligence systems, adopt digital tools and improve cooperation with other security agencies.
He said misinformation and digital manipulation had added new challenges to election security and argued that public trust in police neutrality would be central to credible elections.
The governor also repeated his support for decentralized policing, while acknowledging the need for safeguards on recruitment, funding, training, accountability and political abuse.
Uzodimma said 7,000 operatives of the Imo Vigilante Organisation had been inaugurated to support security efforts, particularly intelligence gathering.
In his address, IGP Disu unveiled a six-point election-security roadmap focused on intelligence, training, joint command, communication, community partnership and neutrality.
He warned political actors against hiring thugs, buying votes, moving arms or threatening voters and electoral officials.
Disu said the police would work with the Independent National Electoral Commission, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission in investigating electoral offenses such as vote-buying and inducement.
He stressed that election security covered the entire electoral cycle, including intelligence, planning, training, protection of INEC personnel and materials, violence prevention and rapid response.
The police chief also said officers would receive training in crowd management, human-rights-compliant policing and protection of vulnerable groups, including women, older persons and persons with disabilities.
He warned officers that neutrality was non-negotiable and that abuse of voters or partisan conduct would undermine the credibility of the force and the electoral process.
