Officers and men of the Nigeria Police have been charged not to make themselves tools in the hands of politicians before, during and after the forthcoming elections.

The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 8, Mr Adekunle Oladunjoye, stated this on Monday in Lokoja while declaring open a two-day capacity training workshop for officers and men in the zone.

He stressed the need for police to be neutral as part of efforts to make the conduct and outcome of the elections credible and acceptable to all contestants.

Oladunjoye, who was represented by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of administration in the Kogi State Command, Mr Gbenga Sadiku, said the workshop was organized to equip policemen with new skills and strategies for the elections.

He therefore said that the new police leadership was looking up to them to discharge their duties professionally.

The theme of the workshop is “Democratic policing and election security management”.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Kogi State council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Alhaji Adeiza Jimoh, urged police to see the press as a partner in progress.

He called for synergy between the police and journalists in the conduct of their duties during the elections, urging that journalists should not be harassed and intimidated in the course of their duty.

130 policemen drawn from Ekiti, Kwara and Kogi States are attending the workshop.