Irked by the worsening security challenges across the country, President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday vowed that those plotting to destroy Nigeria will soon receive the shock of their lives.
The President issued the stern warning shortly after he received a briefing from Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, on series of attacks on INEC facilities in parts of the country.
President Buhari said the federal government had given the perpetrators enough time, vowing that it was time to take tougher actions against those behind the dastardly acts.
“I receive daily security reports on the attacks, and it is very clear that those behind them want this administration to fail,” President Buhari said via a statement issued by his spokesman, Femi Adesina.
He added: “Insecurity in Nigeria is now mentioned all over the world. All the people who want power, whoever they are, you wonder what they really want. Whoever wants the destruction of the system will soon have the shock of their lives. We’ve given them enough time.”
He noted that he visited all the 36 states of the country before the 2019 general elections and “majority of the people believed me, and the election proved it.”
However, the President promised to continue leading Nigeria in accordance with constitutional provisions, pointing out that those misbehaving in certain parts of the country were obviously too young to know the travails and loss of lives that attended the Nigerian Civil War.
He further stated: “Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand. We are going to be very hard sooner than later.”
The President urged Nigerians to be patient as the newly appointed Service Chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police we will do all that is required to secure the country.
On the dangers the burning of INEC facilities posed to future elections, President Buhari said he would provide the electoral commission with all it needed to operate, “so that no one would say we don’t want to go, or that we want a third term. There will be no excuse for failure. We’ll meet all INEC’s demands.”
Earlier, the INEC boss lamented there have been 42 cases of attacks on INEC offices nationwide, since the last General Election.
He said: “The 42 incidents so far occurred in 14 states of the Federation for a variety of reasons….Most of the attacks happened in the last seven months, and they are unrelated to protest against previous elections.
“From the pattern and frequency of the most recent attacks, they appear to be targeted at future elections. The intention is to incapacitate the Commission, undermine the nation’s democracy and precipitate a national crisis.”