Nigerian Army has warned officers and soldiers that ignorance of the law will not excuse misconduct during the 2027 general election.
The warning came as the service began efforts to tighten discipline and professionalism around its role in election security.
Speaking yesterday at a sensitisation seminar at the Nigerian Army School of Finance and Administration (NASFA) Auditorium, Arakan Barracks, Apapa, Lagos, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Maj.-Gen. Adebayo Babalola, urged commanders to ensure personnel deployed for election duties understood the legal limits governing searches, arrests, use of force and treatment of civilians.
He said participants should ask lecturers for clarification on legal and operational grey areas likely to arise during internal security operations tied to the elections.
The seminar, organised less than six months to the 2027 polls, signalled early efforts by the Army to pre-empt the conduct complaints that have trailed troop deployments during past elections, including allegations of intimidation and excessive use of force at checkpoints.
Two lectures anchored the programme: ‘Democracy and National Security: The Role of the Nigerian Military in a Democratic Dispensation,’ delivered by Colonel Olusegun Oladuntoye (rtd), and ‘The Soldier and the Ballot: Legal Pitfalls, Human Rights and Security Duties,’ delivered by a lawyer, Murshadi Yahaya.
The Commander, Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Maj.-Gen. Adeyinka Adereti, reminded troops that the Nigeria Police Force, not the military, was the lead agency for election security and public order, stressing political neutrality, discipline and inter-agency coordination as non-negotiable standards for deployed personnel.
The Army said in a statement that the seminar drew senior officers and representatives of sister security agencies, among them the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Logistics Command, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar Suleh; Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG Olohundare Jimoh, and representatives of other security chiefs in Lagos.