INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan says the deployment of Nigeria’s armed forces to provide election security should not be routine. Speaking in Abuja at a seminar organised by the Army War College, he argues that military support is only warranted when prevailing security conditions require assistance to civil authorities, and that such deployments must follow the Constitution and other applicable laws. Amupitan emphasises that Nigeria’s constitutional framework assigns distinct election-related responsibilities to different institutions. He states that INEC is mandated to organise, undertake and supervise elections, while the Nigeria Police Force is the lead agency for election security under the inter-agency consultative committee on election security. The INEC chair characterises the armed forces’ role as exceptional rather than a regular feature of elections, based on how the Constitution defines institutional roles and inter-agency coordination. Both outlets report the same core message: security planning should primarily rely on the police, with military involvement reserved for situations that make additional force necessary.