To ensure a free and fair election, the Anambra Police Command has vowed to impound vehicles without number plates and covered number plates during the November 8 governorship poll in the state.
According to the police, all measures announced were introduced to ensure water-tight security and credible polls during the exercise in Anambra.
The police public relations officer, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in Awka, the Anambra state capital, on Thursday.
Ikenga said that such acts undermine security, as security agencies were intensifying efforts to guarantee public safety and order before, during, and after the election.
He said, “As part of ongoing measures to ensure adequate security, safety and a credible governorship election in Anambra on November 8, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Ikioye Orutugu, has warned that the command will not tolerate the indiscriminate use of vehicles without number plates or with covered registration plates across the state.’’
He said that Orutugu described the practice as a serious security breach that poses a great threat to security.
According to Orutugu, it is a great threat to security, particularly at a time when the command and other security agencies are intensifying efforts to guarantee public safety and order before, during, and after the election.
The CP noted that criminals often exploit unregistered vehicles or covered number plates to perpetrate crimes, evade arrest, or disrupt the peace of the state.
According to Orutugu, such vehicles would be impounded and their owners prosecuted in accordance with existing laws.
The CP further directed area commanders, divisional police officers (DPOs), and tactical commanders to intensify patrols and stop-and-search operations and ensure full enforcement of the directive across the state.
The command urged residents to cooperate with law enforcement agencies by adhering to traffic and security regulations during the election.
The command also called on the people to report any suspicious movement of persons to the nearest police station or through the command’s emergency numbers on 112 or 07039194332.
