The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), has cautioned security agencies against relying on last-minute deployments to secure elections, stressing the need for early planning, intelligence gathering and inter-agency coordination.
Musa made the call on Tuesday while delivering the keynote address at a security seminar organised by Blueprint newspaper.
According to the minister, effective election security cannot be achieved through rushed deployments shortly before voting begins. He said preparations must start months ahead of elections and be guided by intelligence and continuous assessment of emerging threats.
Musa said election security should not be treated as an exercise limited to election day but as an ongoing process that begins well before campaigns and continues after the final votes are counted.
“The lesson is clear: successful election security is not achieved through last-minute deployments. It is achieved through months of planning, intelligence-led operations, inter-agency coordination, effective communication and continuous assessment of emerging threats and, above all, through the confidence that citizens place in the institutions established to serve them,” he said.
“Security should never be viewed as an event. It is a process that begins long before campaigns commence and continues long after the final vote has been counted.”
The minister also noted that the evolving nature of security threats had made it necessary for election preparations to go beyond the physical protection of polling units.
He stressed the importance of anticipating emerging risks and strengthening coordination among security agencies to ensure safe, credible and peaceful elections.
