The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor has stated that the Armed Forces and other security agencies were ready to provide a safe and secure environment to ensure that the 2023 general elections are free, fair, transparent, and credible. The CDS made this known to journalists on Monday in Abuja shortly after a meeting with the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Director-General (DG) of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI).

It was gathered that unknown gunmen has attacked Awade Police Station in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State in the early hours of 20th February 2023, it was said that the attackers invaded the station and were involved in a gun battle with the officers on duty, where three of the hoodlums lost their lives in the process. A source revealed that gunmen started shooting sporadically as they approached the police station, adding that the gunshots lasted for several hours, adding that two AK-47s and vehicles used for the operation were recovered from the hoodlums.

Amidst the ongoing nationwide protests and attacks on banks as a result of naira scarcity, the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) has supposedly directed that all bank workers should stay away from work. The Association made this known in a letter, where it stated that if the attacks on banks and their staff were not immediately addressed by the government and relevant security agencies, bank staff may be directed to stay at home.

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba has transferred over 3,980 arms, 2,358 assorted ammunition, and 1,057 assorted cartridges to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) under the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). The handing-over ceremony took place on Thursday at the Louis Edet House, Force Headquarters, Abuja.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on behalf of the Federal Government (FG) on Tuesday summoned the Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, Leena Pylvanainen over “hate speech and incitive comments” made by a Nigerian lawyer and Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, who is based in Finland. The Ekpa-led faction of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had declared that the upcoming elections would not be allowed to hold in the South-East region of the country and had ordered that sit-at-home would be observed in the region during elections.

Ahead of the 2023 general elections scheduled to hold on February 25 and March 11, the Department of State Services (DSS) has warned politicians, political parties, the media, and others against making unguarded statements capable of heating up the populace which could result in a breakdown of law and order. The warning was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the DSS, Public Relations Officer, Dr. Peter Afunanya.