Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, has admonished politicians and their supporters who are planning to forment trouble and disrupt the 2023 general elections to think twice.
Speaking during the Defence Headquarters bi-weekly news briefing on Thursday in Abuja, Irabor said the military will do everything within its power to ensure next years elections are peaceful and fair.
He noted that some individuals don’t usually want peaceful elections.
According to him, they will ensure a peaceful period in the coming elections so that every one of us will have a country we will be proud of.
The CDS advised those eyeing positions and appointments after elections to see themselves as men and women that conducted ourselves peacefully.
“For anyone who is looking forward to being elected, he must do it within the ambit of the provisions of the law because we will not in any way stand aside and see those who perpetrate violence all because they are looking for political office or appointive offices.
“Nigeria remains a nation that must live in peace, desire to live in peace, and Nigerians deserve to live in peace.
“And so, we will not allow criminals among those or if you like, thugs that might have made themselves available for anyone to use,” he said.
Irabor, however, urged journalists and the public to continue to support the military and other security agencies in the quest to return peace to trouble spots in the country.
He implored the media to continue to educate Nigerians on the need to trust the military with actionable information in dealing with security challenges as issues of insecurity did not only rest with the military and other security agencies.