Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, on Tuesday, ordered the Commissioner of Police on election duty in Adamawa State, Mohammed Barde, to withdraw from the state with immediate effect.
The IGP also ordered the Commissioner of Police in charge of Gombe State, Etim Equa, to immediately proceed to Adamawa State for election security of the supplementary governorship poll.
The CP’s removal followed declaration of Aishatu Dairu Ahmed (aka Binani) of the All Progressives Congress as the winner of the governorship election while collation of the supplementary election results was still ongoing in the state.
The suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Adamawa, Barr Hudu Yunusa Ari, had declared Binani winner, usurping the statutory responsibility of the returning officer, Prof Mohammed Mele.
Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who announced the CP’s removal at the Force Headquarters, Abuja at a press conference, expressed the IGP’s committed to a free and fair process.
“The IGP has given directive that the commissioner of police on election security in Adamawa State, CP Barde should pull out of Adamawa State and the Commissioner of Police in charge of Gombe State, CP Etim Equa to proceed to Adamawa immediately, to go and supervise election and provide necessary information and ensure that the process is a success,” he said.
Adejobi, a Chief Superintendent of Police, however, also stated that the IGP had yet to receive any letter from the Independent National Electoral Commission seeking the probe and prosecution of its embattled REC in Adamawa, Hudu Yunusa Ari.