2027: Police to hold stakeholders’ security training in Ogun

The Ogun State Police Command has scheduled a security stakeholders’ workshop ahead of the 2027 general elections in a bid to ensure adequate participation and a credible election process.

The meeting, themed ‘Elections, Community Mobilisation, The Law and The Media,’ will be held from September 22-23, 2026.

According to a statement signed by the workshop’s Executive Consultant, Dr Bolu Folayan, a copy of which was made available to PUNCH Online on Tuesday, the training will focus on inter-agency respect, cooperation and coordination, community engagement before, during and after elections; professional conduct and accountability by all stakeholders.

The statement noted that Governor Dapo Abiodun is scheduled to declare the workshop open and present a keynote address, to be followed by the presentation of the workshop’s lead paper by a lawyer and public relations expert, Prof Fassy Yusuf.

Folayan stated that the 1999 Constitution, Electoral Act and Police Act empower various stakeholders to perform various responsibilities during elections, and lack of adequate knowledge of these mutual roles often leads to glitches which affect the credibility of elections.

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“With improved knowledge of stakeholders in the law, inter-agency cooperation, media and community relations, successful elections are much more achievable. While the Constitution gives rights, the Electoral Act gives the rules, and of course, the Police Act gives the conduct, and most stakeholders lack knowledge in these areas regarding elections.

“The Constitution sets the red lines. Security must protect these rights. Media must exercise them responsibly. No security operation should infringe on these without due process. That’s the way to have credible elections, and that’s the goal of this training,” Folayan said.

One of the key deliverables of the training, according to Folayan. is the signing of the ‘Responsive and Responsible Professionalism Charter’ by all stakeholders at the workshop.

Attending the workshop are about 520 stakeholders, including representatives of major political parties, Divisional Police Officers, Zonal and Area Commanders, representatives of Police Community Relations Committees, State Independent Electoral Commission, Directorate of State Security Service, among others.