There are indications that men of Nigeria Armed Forces may be deployed to the 36 states of the Federation ahead of the 2019 general elections to forestall the breakdown of law and order across the country in the aftermath of the elections.
This was contained inna communiqué issues by Col Tukur Gusau, PRO to the Minister of Defence, Gen Masur Alli after a security meeting by the Heads of the Armed forces with President Muhammau Buhari.
In attendance at the meeting are the Army Chief, Gen T.Y Buratai, Naval Chief, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas, Air force Chief, Air Marshall Sadiq Abubakar, and Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris.
Giving the highlights of the meeting, Col Gusau said: “The council called for concerted efforts by all security agencies to ensure that the elections are hitch free, continuous sensitization of the public by National Orientation Agency, Nigerian and regular meetings of relevant stakeholders-@inecnigeria , intl/local observers & the media ahead of elections.
Col Gusau also twitted the following:
“Also of concern is the proliferation and stockpiling of weapons by some disgruntled elements with a desire to take laws into their hands at the slightest opportunity.”
“Another area of security concern include post-election violence, as desperate politicians may whip up ethno-religious sentiments to create insecurity in the country.”
“The meeting also discussed attempts to put pressure on INEC by some notable personalities through demonstrations which was brought under control by the combined efforts of security agencies, to avoid being hijacked by hoodlums or armed bandits.”
It continued: “It recommended deployment of security agencies to states for elections to be conducted peacefully and to further douse tension created by the outcome of political parties’ primaries and some desperate persons to sabotage the electoral process.”
