Gen. Christopher Musa calls for months of intelligence-led planning, cyber protection and stronger inter-agency coordination ahead of elections.
The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), has warned security agencies against relying on last-minute deployments to secure elections, stressing that effective election security requires months of intelligence-led planning and coordination.
Musa spoke on Tuesday while delivering the keynote address at a security seminar organised by Blueprint newspaper.
The minister said election security should be treated as a continuous process beginning long before campaigns commence and extending beyond the announcement of results.
He said effective election security requires strategic intelligence, early warning systems, inter-agency coordination, effective communication and continuous assessment of emerging threats.
Musa also warned that election threats had evolved beyond physical attacks at polling units, with cyberspace, misinformation, economic hardship and the manipulation of ethnic and religious divisions capable of undermining electoral integrity.
He outlined a six-pillar framework for strengthening election security: strategic intelligence, digital infrastructure protection, civil-military coordination, unified strategic communication, a responsible information environment and engaged citizens.
According to him, electoral systems, communication networks and information platforms must be protected against cyberattacks, digital sabotage and malicious interference.
Musa also called for stronger collaboration among security agencies, stressing that institutional rivalry must give way to joint planning and interoperability.
On misinformation, the minister said timely and coordinated communication was essential to maintaining public confidence before, during and after elections.
He urged the media, technology companies, civil society organisations, educational institutions and citizens to work with government to promote fact-based public discourse and reject narratives capable of inciting violence.
Former Zamfara State Governor AbdulAziz Yari, who also spoke at the event, warned politicians against exploiting insecurity for political gain.
Yari described the fight against insecurity as a collective national responsibility and urged political parties to support efforts to address the country’s security challenges rather than use them to win public sympathy.