No person, group can stop elections in South-East– Chief of Defence Staff

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, gave the assurance that election would hold peacefully in the Southeast states and every other part of the nation in spite of threats by criminal persons and groups.

The Nigerian military has assured Nigerians that it will work in collaboration with other security agencies to ensure that the 2023 general elections would hold peacefully in the Southeast states and every other part of the nation.

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, gave the assurance in Abuja at the 25th edition of President Muhammadu Buhari Scorecard Series. The edition featured the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, who presented the scorecard of the ministry.

Irabor said no person or group could stop the polls. He said this while responding to a question on the threat by the Simon Ekpa-led faction of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to stop this year’s general elections in the southeast states.

He said: “The armed forces are 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.”

Corroborating the position of Magashi that “no territory of Nigeria is under the control of Boko Haram or any other terrorist group”, Irabor said that all communities in the North East zone of Nigeria had been liberated from criminal elements.