Thursday, the top brass of the Nigerian military released a statement denouncing threats to sabotage the general elections in 2023 in the South East made by unidentified gunmen and members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The report also stated that although they might be present in different regional governments, terrorists, bandits, and other criminals do not rule any territory.
Maj.-Gen. Musa Danmadami, Director of Defence Media Operation, made the warning while taking questions from journalists during a press conference about the activities of troops stationed in each of Nigeria's six political zones.
“Election will be held as scheduled in the South East. No gunman or unknown gunmen or what is it called can stop the election. We have continued to carry out various operations and we will continue to carry it out,” he said.
The IPOB’s threats to halt elections in the South East zone of the country and the recent beheading of the Chairman of the Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State, Christopher Ohizu, were reported by Prime 9ja Online.
Danmadami added, “No territory is being held on to by the terrorists, bandits or other criminals. Yes, we have several pockets of them in some parts of the country, which is why operations are going daily.
“Of course, they may be disturbing some local government areas, but to say they have a territory they hold on to, no!
“As I told you, we’ve been carrying out a lot of operations to ensure that their enclaves are destroyed and eliminated. On the election, the Chief of Defence Staff repeatedly said that the armed forces would remain apolitical.
“The police are the leading agency as far as election matters are concerned, they have the mandate, while other security agencies would support them to achieve this. I can tell you that any unwanted act during elections would be dealt with decisively.”
The senior military commander declined to comment on the airstrikes in Nasarawa State that killed herders, citing that the state governor, Abdullahi Sule, had already addressed the matter.
Airstrikes by the military have reportedly killed 38 herders in the Rukubi village in Doma Local Government Area, Nasarawa State.
According to several reports, the herders were killed on their way back from Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, where they had gone to rescue more than a thousand cows taken by the Benue Livestock Guards.
Yesterday, Governor Sule met with Alhaji Abubakar Bello-Bodejo, the national president of the Meyeti Allah Kautal Hore, in Lafia at Government House.
According to our source, the emergency meeting was attended by about two hundred prominent members of the Fulani community from across the state, including representatives from Benue.
The governor assured the victims’ loved ones that the situation would be thoroughly investigated and asked them to reassure themselves that their loved ones were safe.