Don’t arm thugs to protect votes while your children stay abroad, Keyamo tells politicians

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has warned politicians against encouraging supporters and thugs to take up arms under the guise of protecting their votes during elections.

Keyamo said some politicians who had secured safe havens abroad for their children were inciting vulnerable Nigerians to engage in violence during elections.

The minister made the remarks in a statement posted on his X account on Tuesday, while recalling the warning issued by former President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of the 2019 general election.

He said security agencies would be justified in taking action against anyone who resorted to violence or attacked others while claiming to protect election results.

“After safely ferrying their children abroad, some unscrupulous politicians are encouraging hapless citizens and thugs to take up weapons to kill one another under the pretext of ‘protecting their votes’. That’s fine,” Keyamo said.

He added that he continued to support Buhari’s position that security operatives could use force against individuals who carried dangerous weapons and attacked others in the name of protecting their votes.

“And the children of the politicians will be watching your foolishness from their safe haven somewhere in the world,” he said.

Buhari had, during an emergency meeting of the All Progressives Congress on February 18, 2019, warned that anyone who attempted to snatch ballot boxes during the general election would do so “at the expense of his own life”.