The Nigerian military on Monday assured that the 2023 elections would hold peacefully in southeast states and all other parts of the country in spite of threats by criminal elements.
Lucky Irabor, an army general and chief of defence staff, gave the assurance in Abuja at the 25th edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari’ (PMB) Scorecard Series.
Responding to a question on the threat by the Simon Ekpa led faction of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to stop the elections in the south east zone; Irabor said no person or group can stop the polls.
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“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,” he said.
Irabor also said that “no territory of Nigeria is under the control of Boko Haram or any other terrorist group.”
According to him, all communities in the north-east zone of the country had been liberated from the criminal elements.
Irabor said the military was on the mission for final cleansing of the north-east region from terrorists.
He said the fact that the military has not ceased operation in the region did not mean that the terrorists were still occupying any portion of the nation’s territory.
