The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor has disclosed that the security agencies and the military constantly come under pressure to compromise during elections.
According to him, the pressures came through various financial inducements.
However, Irabor said he was promising Nigerians to trust the military as they strive to maintain neutrality following the president’s directive.
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He spoke this during the Ministerial weekly briefing on Thursday.
The Chief of Defense Staff also revealed updates on steps made by the Military in the fight against insurgency, terrorism, and banditry.
On that, he stated that personnel was being trained to follow the codified rules of engagement before, during, and after the elections.
The CDS further disclosed that over 300,000 persons have been freed from the hands of abductors since 2016 while refugees who fled the northeast owing to the insurgency have started to return.
He admitted that there still exits Internal sabotage within the military, however, affirmed that they have not succeeded.
He also debunked international news media that accused the military of carrying out over 10,000 illegal abortions on female victims of the war in the Northeast.
Irabor stated the military couldn’t have been engaged in a planned abortion program since 2013 and as the military commander in charge of Operation Lafia Dole between 2016 and 2017, he never heard of any such thing.
He hence condemned the report in its entirety, stressing that the military was not unaware of extra-territorial elements who do not peace to fester in the country.
Also, CDS commented on the alleged Lekki toll gate massacre in 2020. On that, he claimed the Nigerian military was not interested in killing its people as it was rather more concerned with protecting the citizens.
Speaking on the efforts of the military in the fight against crude oil theft, Irabor stated it
have been yielding positive results, adding that the increase in crude oil production was 1.6 million barrels per day.
