Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (retd.), has called for tougher action against politicians and other public figures whose statements could encourage violence or threaten national peace.
Irabor made the call on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday while reacting to the controversy surrounding Senator Francis Fadahunsi’s alleged comments about members of the Accord Party ahead of the Osun governorship election.
Fadahunsi was questioned by the police following the circulation of a video in which he was allegedly heard calling for Accord members to be killed. The senator has since maintained that the video was edited and that his comments were misrepresented.
Irabor backs police action
Irabor commended the police for inviting Fadahunsi but argued that authorities should go further when public figures make statements capable of provoking violence.
“Any time we hear individuals who make inciting comments, I think that such people should be picked up immediately.”
He said the senator’s comments, regardless of their political context, appeared to border on incitement and should be properly investigated.
Irabor also called for action against Islamic clerics Sani Jingir and Ahmad Gumi over statements he described as potentially inflammatory.
“There is nobody who is above the law and then when you say things that are not right you should be called in to answer.”
Irabor warns against return to violent politics
The former military chief said decisive action against inflammatory rhetoric could strengthen the morale of Nigeria’s security and defence personnel.
He also linked political rhetoric to the deployment of security forces during elections, arguing that military involvement should primarily serve as a deterrent rather than become a normal part of the electoral process.
“When we begin to hear them, they are reminiscent of the First Republic. I thought that now that we are in the Fourth Republic, we would have learnt from our history and so we don’t want a repeat of that.”
Irabor said inflammatory political statements could worsen the security environment and create situations that require heavier deployment of security forces during elections.
Source: Channels Television’s The Morning Brief; comments by General Lucky Irabor (retd.).
