The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 13, AIG Godwin Iguh Eze, has ordered the postponement of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) Zone 13 election amid allegations of attempts to manipulate the electoral process.
The election, originally scheduled for Wednesday, July 8, 2026, was expected to produce a new executive committee to oversee the affairs of the zone for the next four years.
In a statement issued by the Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Chidera Oha, the AIG said the election could no longer proceed due to procedural and administrative concerns.
According to the statement, exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters, the postponement was necessitated by alleged irregularities and discrepancies in the conduct of the electoral process.
SaharaReporters gathered that the National Chairman of the PCRC, Alhaji Ibrahim Olaniyan Mogaji, allegedly failed to forward the names of aspirants to the AIG’s office or the Zonal Management Team for the mandatory screening, contrary to the guidelines governing the election.
Sources further alleged that Olaniyan sought to influence the process by promoting preferred candidates with the aim of ensuring their emergence, rather than allowing a transparent and credible election.
A source familiar with the matter told SaharaReporters that following the postponement, the National Chairman had begun lobbying senior officers at the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja in an effort to secure a reversal of the AIG’s decision.
According to the source, Olaniyan was displeased with the postponement, insisting that the decision had disrupted his plans for the election.
The police statement said the AIG “has directed that the Zone 13 PCRC election will no longer hold on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, for the following reasons.
“The AIG, Zone 13, will be on an official visit to another state on that day and will therefore not be available. The nomination forms were not made available to the AIG, Zone 13, or the Zonal Police Public Relations Officer.
“The contestants were also not screened by the AIG, Zone 13, or members of the Zonal Management Team.”
Efforts by SaharaReporters to obtain Olaniyan’s response to the latest allegations were unsuccessful, as he did not answer repeated calls to his mobile phone before the publication of this report.
SaharaReporters had previously reported on March 27, 2026, that some members of the PCRC accused Olaniyan of victimising female staff who allegedly rejected his advances and sought greater financial accountability within the organisation.
He has also been the subject of reports containing allegations of corruption, financial mismanagement, abuse of office, and the suppression of accountability within the PCRC.
Critics further accused him of transforming the organisation into what they described as a “personal enterprise” driven by unchecked financial interests.
(SaharaReporters)
