MAKURDI- The Benue Police Command said it had adopted proactive measures against electoral violence both during and after the forthcoming general elections.
The Public Relations Officer of the command, ASP Austin Ezeani, said this in an interview with newsmen in Makurdi.
“The police is no longer interested in reactive policing but in applying proactive measures against crime in the country,” he said.
He regretted the recent attack on the business premises of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, Dr Samuel Ortom, and said patrol vehicles had been stationed in all party offices to prevent a reoccurrence.
He said the police were yet to establish the motive of the attack but assured that those behind it would be arrested.
Ezeani said one person had so far been arrested in connection with the incident and assured of the readiness of the police in safeguarding lives and property during the polls.
He warned politicians to abide by the provisions of the Electoral Act both during and after the elections or face the wrath of the law.
Ezeani said any politician caught breaching the law would be thoroughly prosecuted “ no matter how highly placed he may be”.
He said the police had intensified its”Stop-And-Search “ order on campaign vehicles in the state, disclosing that most of them were being used by thugs to cause trouble.