The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, has disclosed that the police will deploy at least four officers to every polling unit for the forthcoming Osun State governorship election.

Disu described the exercise as one of the largest security deployments the state has witnessed.

Speaking at a meeting with civil society organisations in Abuja on Friday, the IG said Osun has 30 local governments, 332 wards, and 3,673 polling units, making it a significantly larger operation than the last election held in Anambra State, which he described as peaceful and largely free of complaints.

He said the police intend to have no fewer than four officers stationed at each of the polling units, in addition to personnel from other security agencies expected to support the police at the same locations.

Disu said the scale of officers being deployed reflects both the number of polling units and the tension already building around the election.

“So it’s a very, very large one. Large than the last election we had in Ekiti. I’m happy you mentioned Ekiti. Beautiful election. I don’t think we had complaints. We deployed just like we are doing in Osun. But Osun case we are deploying more than that. The number of officers who are deploying is huge. But you take into consideration the tension that the election is already generating and the fact that we have 3,673 polling units. We intend to have nothing less than 4 policemen in all the polling booths. We intend to do that. And then don’t forget that then we have other sister agencies supporting us who should also be at the polling units.

“So when you hear the number of officers deployed, that’s one of the reasons why we need to deploy early. And our sister agencies too have been able to assign duties to them who wanted to assist us there.”

The IG said the heavy deployment was intended to reassure residents and encourage them to vote without fear, stating that every officer visible on the streets had been deployed specifically to protect voters.

He said the police had begun deploying teams to Osun ahead of the election, particularly to areas identified as having a higher risk of violence.

He urged political parties, candidates and their supporters to conduct themselves responsibly before, during and after the election, stressing that political contests should be based on ideas and policies rather than violence.

“No political ambition is worth the loss of a single Nigerian life,” Disu said.