The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor, on Monday, says the Armed Forces and other security agencies are ready to provide a safe and secure environment for the February 25 and March 11 elections.
Irabor gave the assurance while briefing newsmen shortly after the meeting with Service Chiefs and heads of security agencies in Abuja.
According to him, those that intend to cause trouble during the elections to have a rethink “because they will have a bloody nose.”
” We have just finished the meeting – the Service Chiefs, the Inspector General, Police, the DSS, represented by the Director of Operations, the DG NIA and the CDI – looking at the security for the elections, and, as you know, the Police is the lead agency for elections security, and we have compared notes and assessed the entire situation and we are good to go.
“The assessment is that we are set on all fronts. We got representation from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who, of course, you have interacted with, who has also told Nigerians and the world that they are ready for this election.
“So, by and large, we are good to go and I like to use the opportunity to assure Nigerians that on the security front, we are good to go on all fronts,” he said.
Irabor also gave assurance that the security agencies were also ready to ensure that every part of the country would have peaceful elections and that Nigerians exercise their franchise.
Irabor held a closed-door meeting with the Service Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force, Inspector-General of Police, Directors-Generals of the Department of State Services and National Intelligence Agency, as well as the Chief of Defence Intelligence.
He said the purpose of the meeting was to review the election security and develop action plans to ensure that the elections are held under a peaceful atmosphere.
