The Cross River State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Henry Fadairo, says the army is not directly involved in maintaining law and order during elections.

Fadairo said this in Calabar during an interactive session with stakeholders on political activities in the state ahead of next month’s elections.

He was responding to worries from officials of political parties who complained of the unfriendly nature of army personnel to civilians during elections.

The meeting attracted the state heads of Directorate of State Security, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Custom Service, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety Corps, traditional and religious rulers, among others.

Fadairo said, “Army will not be directly involved. We gathered these security agencies here because they are ones directly involved in maintaining law and order on that day.”

The commissioner warned politicians against unruly conducts before and after the February general elections.

According to Fadairo, information at the disposal of the police indicates that politicians are planning to make use of the uniforms of vigilante groups, special guards and task force in the state on Election Day.

He warned them to drop the idea as the police would deal squarely with those who break the law before, during and after the elections.

The commissioner said police would not tolerate politicians tearing each other’s posters, disclosing that plain-clothes security agents would be drafted to monitor perpetuators of such acts and get them arrested.

Meanwhile officials of the Labour Party and All Progressives Congress have alerted the police of threat to lives and destruction of posters of their candidates.

The state chairman of LP, Mr. Austin Ibok, said his live and that of other members of the party was under threat.

The state Secretary of APC, Mr. Victor Ebong, corroborated the above allegation and added that his party’s posters were being destroyed by agents of the Peoples Democratic Party-led government in the state in collaboration with the police.

Ebong also alleged that police men were also used by the ruling party to intimidate oppositions and perpetuate electoral fraud during elections.

“Government and police collaborate to tear our posters, even right in front of our state office along Marian Road; I have seen them do that. In polling units, they also use the police to intimidate us. Our lives are threatened, please protect us,” he said.