Defence minister warns against last-minute deployments for election security
General Christopher Musa retd., the Minister of Defence, has cautioned security agencies against relying on last-minute deployments for election security, emphasizing that effective security requires months of intelligence-led planning and coordination. Speaking at a Blueprint newspaper security seminar, Musa stated that election security is a continuous process, not an event limited to election day, and necessitates early preparation and assessment of emerging threats. He highlighted that modern threats extend beyond physical polling units to include cyberspace, misinformation, economic hardship, and the manipulation of ethnic and religious divisions. Musa proposed a six-pillar framework for strengthening election security, starting with strategic intelligence for planning, followed by protecting digital infrastructure against cyber intrusion. The third pillar is civil-military coordination, stressing collaboration among security agencies. Unified strategic communication is the fourth pillar, crucial for countering misinformation. The fifth and sixth pillars, a responsible information environment and engaged citizens, underscore that combating misinformation is a shared national responsibility involving media, technology companies, civil society, educational institutions, and citizens. Separately, former Governor of Zamfara State, AbdulAziz Yari, warned politicians against exploiting insecurity for political gain, stating that the fight against insecurity is a collective nat
