*As Nigeria-made retired Army officer gives intervention for credible transition process
By BASHIR ADEFAKA
Lagos State, as Nigeria’s most complex federating unit, should be included among other states requiring special security attention to which the armed forces, Nigerian Police Force, Department of State Services and other security agencies must deploy officers and personnel in ensuring peaceful exercise during the upcoming elections.
This was contained in a statement by the Media Office of Former Minister of Communications and General Officer Commanding (GOC), Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (Rtd), dated Wednesday February 15, 2023 and made available to the Nigerian press including The DEFENDER.
According to the statement, the former Minister called for the inclusion of Lagos State, while agreeing with the military assurance given by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, on the urgency and necessity of deploying defence forces against threat by Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) that the terrorist group cannot stop the upcoming elections from holding in South East states of the country.
To General Olanrewaju, whose intervention coming third time in a stretch of two weeks underscores the importance of upcoming elections in the life of Nigeria, such assurance should particularly be extended to Lagos which has many flash points in the country’s electioneering exercise.
The DEFENDER reports that General Irabor spoke while passing the military assurance to Nigerians that this year’s elections would hold peacefully in the South East states and in all parts of the country in spite of threats by criminal elements.
The CDS gave the assurance in Abuja at the 25th edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB)’s Scorecard Series, which featured the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (Rtd), who presented the scorecard of the Ministry of Defence.
Responding to a question on the threat by the Simon Ekpa led faction of the terrorist group, IPOB, to stop the elections in the South East Zone, Irabor said no person or group can stop the polls.
“The armed forces is working in concert with the Police and other security agencies to ensure that the menace of criminalities from IPOB and Eastern Security Network are eliminated,” he said.
Irabor also collaborated the position off the Minister of Defence that “no territory of Nigeria is under the control of the Boko Haram or any other terrorists group,” adding that all communities in the North East Zone off the country had been liberated fromm the criminal elements.
General Tajudeen Olanrewaju, who expressed satisfaction over the steps being taken, urged the Military High Command and other security organisations to take particular look at major flash points at elections period including those of Lagos among others to ensure that no miscreants have the “freedom of time and space” to disrupt the process.
General Olanrewaju said, “We need this military assurance that a free, fair, and credible election will be held in Lagos State. We implore the Federal Government to deploy the military before, during and after 25 February election.
“There are many flash points in Lagos State that make casting votes very difficult because of the activities of thugs, miscreants and street urchins.
“They are often used to create senseless disturbances in the strong holds of opponents, rending acceptance of results untenable,” General Olanrewaju said in the statement by his Media Office on Wednesday.
