2027: Kano CP rejigs security architecture

Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Bakori. Photo: Police

The Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Bakori, has reassured residents of the state of adequate security before, during and after the 2027 general elections.

The commissioner gave the assurance on Saturday at the 2026 Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Kano State Chapter, where he served as a special guest of honour at the event.

“We will employ robust security architecture to guarantee peace before, during and after the 2027 general elections,” he said.

He disclosed that the command had commenced stakeholder engagements, training and sensitisation programmes with youth groups, political actors and media practitioners, while sustaining intelligence-led operations and inter-agency synergy to counter hate speech, political thuggery, fake news and communication warfare capable of breaching peace.

The commissioner noted that from policing experience, an election is not an event but a process, and information is the oxygen that sustains that process.

“Mismanaged information breeds rumour, incites violence and undermines public trust. Well-managed information, on the other hand, builds confidence, promotes peace and strengthens democracy,” Bakori noted.

He emphasised that Information officers are not mere disseminators of press releases, but gatekeepers of truth, managers of perception and the first line of defence against misinformation, disinformation and fake news, especially when results are being awaited, collated or announced.

Bakori appreciated the executive council of the NIPR Kano State Chapter for the honour and for sustaining professionalism, ethics and excellence in public relations practice in Kano State. He described the theme as apt, timely and strategic in view of the forthcoming 2027 general elections.

He, however, urged participants to develop a clear and ethical framework for managing election results that emphasises accuracy over speed, responsibility over sensationalism, and national interest over personal or partisan gain.

Earlier in his opening remarks, Prof. Sule Yau of the Faculty of Communication, Bayero University, Kano, elucidated the role of Information Officers in managing election results, stressing the need for them to consider professionalism, ethics and national interest.

The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Kano State, Zango Abdu, assured of INEC’s preparedness for free, fair, credible and transparent elections in 2027 through improved technology and robust stakeholder engagement.