The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said that the comment of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor where he stated that the military and other security agencies were under pressure to compromise the outcome of the 2023 general elections was misinterpreted to convey a “sinister meaning”. This was disclosed in a statement released on Friday by the DHQ, Director of Defence Information, Major General Jimmy Akpor.
He said, “The attention of the Defence Headquarters has been drawn to several headlines and news purporting to suggest that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, CFR, had alluded to the military and other security agencies being under pressure to compromise the 2023 elections.
“This impression was reportedly made during the 61st Session of the State House Briefing which featured the Chief of Defence Staff on 8 December 2022.
“The Defence Headquarters, however, wishes to say categorically that this impression is not only erroneous but false and a deliberate or inadvertent attempt to twist what was said, to convey a sinister meaning”.
The statement further said that the Armed Forces were presently working with other security agencies to create an enabling environment to ensure that the 2023 general elections are free, fair and credible.
It also urged the media and the general public to refrain from the “misrepresentation of the military leadership at any forum at this critical time of our nationhood”.