The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor, on Monday, warned those planning to disrupt the 2023 general elections to have a rethink or be prepared to get a bloody nose from the military and other security agencies.
Gen. Irabor gave this warning, while briefing the press, after a close door meeting with the Service Chiefs, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Director General, Department of State Service (DSS), Director General of Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA), and the Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), on the state of preparedness for election security.
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He said: “We discussed the issue of election security, and as you know the police is the lead agency, for election security.
We have compared notes, and assessed the entire situation and we are good to go”.
The CDS, also disclosed that their assessment showed that the Armed Force of Nigeria and other security agencies, especially the Nigerian Police Force, which is the lead agency in internal security, are set on all fronts.
He also revealed that, they had interacted, with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and he said that the electoral umpire is also ready for the elections.
“So, bye and large we are good to go and I will like to use this opportunity to assure Nigerians that on security front we are good to go on all fronts,” he assured.
On how election would hold in communities prone to terrorist attacks in the northeast theatre, the CDS said, “I don’t need to tell you how we would do it, but all I can tell you is that we would do it and everybody will have the liberty to exercise their franchise. This is part of the assessment that we have done and the general assessment is that we are good to go. We have contingency plans to address the security need of those areas”.
On those planning to undermine the election, Gen. Irabor concluded, “they should have a rethink because they will have a bloody nose”.
