Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (retd.), has urged decisive action, including the arrest of politicians and other influential Nigerians who make inflammatory statements that could incite violence and disturb the nation’s peace.
This call to action comes in the wake of a recent incident involving Senator Francis Fadahunsi of Osun East. In a viral video, the senator allegedly instructed his supporters to harm members of the Accord Party and their families in the lead-up to a state governorship election. The aftermath of these remarks saw the senator questioned by the police, where he maintained that his words had been distorted in edits to misrepresent his true intentions.
During an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, General Irabor criticized the senator’s remarks and praised the police for their intervention. He expressed that anyone making such provocative statements should be promptly apprehended, noting that while the senator’s comments were political, they also verged on inciting violence. General Irabor endorsed the police’s decision to invite the senator for questioning and suggested further investigation was warranted.
Additionally, Irabor called for the arrest of Islamic clerics Sani Jingir and Ahmad Gumi, citing their history of inciting statements. He underscored the importance of demonstrating that no one is above the law and that individuals must be held accountable for inflammatory comments.
General Irabor emphasized that taking decisive steps against those who incite violence would bolster the morale of defense and security forces. He also linked such rhetoric from political figures to the military’s deployment during elections, arguing that these deployments should ideally be unnecessary.
“This issue is concerning not only to me but all well-meaning Nigerians,” Irabor remarked. “In the fourth republic, we hoped to avoid repeating the mistakes of past eras. The language used by some political actors recalls those earlier times, prompting military involvement to prevent a security situation that could become uncontrollable. The military’s presence, under Operation Safe Conduct, serves as a deterrent rather than direct involvement in election processes,” General Irabor concluded.
