NSA warns against plot to ignite civil unrest

The National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, Babagana Monguno, has warned against plots to exploit the current socio-economic situation in Nigeria to fuel civil unrest before, during and after the general elections.

Mr. Monguno, who was represented by Sanusi Galadima, an official in the Office of the NSA, gave the warning during a meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Electoral Security (ICCES) held by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja on Tuesday.

Mr. Monguno, a retired general, said the government is aware of the plans of domestic subversive groups and external collaborators to exploit the current socio-economic climate in the country because of the government’s well-designed policies to cause civilian arrests.

“In this vein and in line with Mr. President’s commitment to ensure a peaceful transition of political power to the next democratically elected president through free, fair and credible elections, the security agencies are charged to ensure a strong deployment to deal with individuals or groups, it doesn’t matter how high it is,” he said.

Consequently, the NSA calls for strong commitment among critical stakeholders in the electoral process and strict adherence to the rules of the game by political actors. He also called on security personnel to show professionalism in order to achieve a successful and credible election.

He assured Nigerians of his unwavering determination to coordinate the efforts of all security and intelligence agencies for success in the 2023 general elections.

The NSA, however, observed with concern the escalation of violent election campaigns in parts of the country despite the peace accords approved by all the presidential flag bearers.

“This ugly trend is shown mainly in the attitude of political actors, sponsored thugs and other unpatriotic elements through their unguarded speech.

“Apparently, the above has been more impeached joint efforts of security and intelligence agencies to effectively neutralize security challenges related to insurgency, terrorism, kidnapping and separatist agitations, sources and communal conflicts, among others,” NSA said.

Mr. Monguno urged INEC to reiterate the need for presidential candidates to uphold their commitment to peaceful elections in the next round of national peace accords.

He ordered INEC, security agencies and the National Peace Committee to develop strategies to reduce the anxiety that usually characterizes Nigeria’s general elections.

Mr. Monguno also appreciated the Code of Conduct and Rules of Engagement for Security Agencies on Electoral Duties released at the meeting.

“The above will certainly increase synergy and collaboration among member agencies to effectively reduce threats during and after the elections.”

In his remarks, the Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, said that INEC is backed by security guarantees in all locations, where elections and election activities will take place.

Mr. Yakubu said the meeting was to finalize the committee’s operation plan for the upcoming elections, to ensure the security of all.

“The commission understands that security agencies will protect not only our officials and facilities, but also accredited observers, journalists, service providers, and especially the voters themselves.

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“So this meeting is a rare opportunity for us to perfect our operations, not only to protect the environment or the security of the environment where the election will take place.

“Also the security of all those involved in the process, starting from INEC officials, the facilities we will use for the election, as well as all those who have legitimate businesses to be part of the election process.

“From observers to journalists representing various national and international media organizations to service providers like transporters, etc., but most importantly, voters will vote in about 177,000 locations across the country on Saturday,” said Mr. Yakubu.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that highlights of the meeting included the presentation of the Code of Conduct and Rules of Engagement for Security Agencies on Electoral Duties.

(AT)