President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has issued a direct mandate to heads of all national security agencies to secure the nation and guarantee an environment where citizens can exercise their voting rights without fear or intimidation in the upcoming elections scheduled for January.
​The directive was made public by the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd), following a high-level security meeting convened on Thursday at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
​Briefing State House correspondents shortly after the conclusion of the closed-door meeting, General Musa emphasized the President’s commitment to protecting democratic processes.
​”Mr. President made it unequivocally clear that his administration demands a free, fair, and credible election,” Musa stated. “Security agencies have been instructed to deploy all necessary measures to safeguard citizens and ensure that voters across all polling units feel completely secure to cast their ballots.”
​Addressing concerns over political bias, the Defence Minister assured all participating political parties and electoral stakeholders that security forces would maintain strict neutrality throughout the campaign and voting periods.
​Beyond election security measures, President Tinubu ordered security chiefs to intensify kinetic operations against violent criminal networks, bandits, and insurgent groups across the country.
Security personnel were directed to hunt down and completely demolish terrorist operational bases nationwide. “There must be no safe haven or active camps for bandits or terrorists anywhere within Nigerian borders,” General Musa declared.
Security agencies received explicit orders to track down kidnapping rings and secure the immediate release of all abducted individuals. The minister confirmed that newly acquired military aircraft and hardware would soon be commissioned to bolster tactical capacity in high-risk zones.
​The high-stakes briefing brought together top leadership across Nigeria’s defense, intelligence, and law enforcement establishments. Defence Headquarters: Chief of Defence Staff General Olufemi Oluyede.
Also present was, Nigerian Army: Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, Nigerian Navy Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, Nigerian Air Force Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, Nigeria Police Force: Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu and Department of State Services (DSS) Director-General Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi.
​Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed that additional operational guidelines for election security deployments will be released by the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) in the coming days.
