Irabor: Pressure on Military to Compromise Election but We Remain Neutral

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor, has declared that security agencies are always under pressure to compromise elections in the country.

He has, however, called on Nigerians to have implicit confidence in Nigerian military officers and men who will remain totally committed to being neutral and apolitical.

Speaking with newsmen Thursday at the State House, Abuja, the CDS explained that security personnel come under pressure through inducements, noting that necessary measures are being put in place to ensure that security personnel obey President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent directive to maintain neutrality.

According to him, personnel are being trained to be more professional while rules of engagement before, during and after the elections have been codified and distributed to them.

Irabor also spoke of the key achievements of the military in the effort to keep the country safe including more recruitment into all branches of the security services, routing of insurgency and banditry, as well as the action to curtail oil theft leading to increase in crude oil production.

He also said over 300,000 people have been freed from the hands of abductors since 2014, while refugees, who fled the North-east zone due to insurgency, have started to return to their homes.