*** Conference resolves on election roadmap, AI-driven policing, tougher sanctions for partisan officers

By Festus Fifen

As key stakeholders prepare for Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, the Nigeria Police Force the lead agency in election security have drawn up a ten-point plan to keep votes safe, officers neutral and violence in check.

These resolutions which are contained in the communiqué released at the 2026 Edition of the Conference and Retreat of Senior Police Officers CARSPO 2026 held in Owerri the Imo State Capital came at the end of the conference presentations, panel sessions and participant contributions.

The communiqué read by the Force Public Relations Officer CSP Aniete Iniedu has a comprehensive Nigeria Police Election Security Roadmap covering the entire electoral cycle.

The Nigeria Police Force in collaboration with other sister agencies with clearly assigned responsibilities, timelines, performance indicators and monitoring mechanisms will be fully on ground as reported by the communiqué.

The resolution says predicting trouble before it starts which is under a “Predict, Prevent and Manage” point further emphasizes the role of the police with historical data, current intelligence and post-election reviews that will be used to identify and continually update electoral flashpoints.

The communiqué says All election-security data will be digitised and stored in a secure central database.

In one voice the conference also called for smart, intelligence-led policing aimed at digitising police processes, integrating data systems and deploying artificial intelligence responsibly for investigations, crime analysis and threat detection.

Delegates and participants during the panels and discussion sessions insisted technology must support, not replace, professional judgement, with data-protection safeguards, audit and human oversight.

The communiqué also identified a unified front for all law enforcement agencies involved in election duty which was codenamed “One command, one message”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’s) guidelines for security officials will be harmonised with the police operational framework for effectiveness

The conference also resolved that Officers on election duty will get comprehensive training and retraining in electoral laws, intelligence gathering, political neutrality, conflict prevention, crowd management and human-rights-compliant policing.

It was also agreed that those found guilty of partisanship, misconduct or breaching procedures will face appropriate sanctions.

On the use of force, the conference stressed legality, necessity, proportionality and accountability. Negotiation and de-escalation should come first while Officers with firearms must be properly trained, and every use-of-force incident must be promptly reported, documented and reviewed by a supervisors.

Participants also called for adequate funding and timely logistics: allowances, equipment, duty rotations and transport to and from election posts. Operational plans will also prioritise the protection of voters, electoral officials and materials, particularly women, older persons and persons with disabilities.

Going after offenders the resolution stated.

Specialised, trained election-security investigation teams will be set up. The police, INEC, EFCC, ICPC and prosecutors will work more closely to tackle vote-buying, intimidation, violence and unlawful possession of arms.

Communication was declared an operational and leadership responsibility, with emphasis that police statements must be timely, accurate and based on verified information, and mechanisms which will be created to counter election-related misinformation.

In his closing remarks, the Inspector general of Police IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu charged senior police officers to go back to their duty post and implement all recommendations ahead of the polls, assuring the officers that the Police management will do everything possible to make sure that an enabling environment for implementation of the communiqué is created on a timely basis.