Following the rising insecurity across the country, Nigeria’s military authorities have said they are ready to forgo its traditional seniority practices in order to retain some senior military officers in service due to the ongoing campaign against terrorists, bandits and separatists in the country.
Consequently, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said there will be no mass retirement of senior military officers following the appointment of Major General Faruk Yahaya as the new chief of army staff (COAS).
The acting director, Defence Media Operations (DMO), Brigadier General Benard Onyeuko, stated this yesterday while updating the press on the progress of military operations across the country between May 20 and June 2, 2021.
Brigadier General Onyeuko’s declaration is contrary to the expectation that members of Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA) Courses 35 and 36 will be retired in line with the military tradition after their junior (Major General Yahaya) was appointed to ahead of them as army chief in order to maintain the primacy of command and control.
LEADERSHIP reports that Yahaya is a member of NDA Course 37 whereas members of Courses 35 and 36 are still in service.
Several newspapers had reported earlier this week that about 30 generals would have to retire from the army following the appointment of their junior as army chief in line with military tradition. That would have made it about 75 generals leaving service in the last four months after the late Lt-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru (Course 35) was appointed COAS in January to replace General Tukut Buratai (Course 32) forcing about 45 general from Courses 33 and 34 to give way.
But obviously reacting to this report, the defence spokesman moved to explain that no general will be forced out as a result of the COAS’ appointment, saying the army cannot afford to lose so many senior military hands in the midst of an insurgency war on many fronts, adding that the decision to retire was a personal choice and not compulsion.
“At this point, you are all aware of the appointment of the new chief of army staff, Major General Farouk Yahaya. This has stirred up a lot of rumours in the media about mass retirements in the military. I wish to use this medium to dispel such unfounded rumours. Retirement is only on voluntary basis for senior officers who desire to do so. At this point, no retirements have been authorised by the Military High Command,” he said
LEADERSHIP gathered that at his maiden meeting with principal staff officers and field commanders, some senior officers, including Major General Benjamin Ahanotu, were absent.
But despite the statement by the defence spokesman, some military sources, however, say it is not possible for the service to retain the senior officers, and that the affected general would have to go.
“DMO does not preside over any service. Though we will be losing senior officers, but the system has already envisaged this.
What people don’t understand is that they feel because CDS (chief of defence staff) is Course 34, so those from Course 35 and 36 will go to work with him, but it is not possible. They can’t go and work with him. Is it not the COAS that will send them there?
“If he doesn’t send them, they can’t go on their own. We knew it (the appointment of Major General Yahaya) will have implications, but that is the respect the system has,” a senior military source said.
Another officer collaborated the above statement, saying some of the affected military officers had already packed out because they know tradition instilled in them right from their NDA days.
Meanwhile, speaking on military operations, the defence spokesman, Brigadier General Onyeuko, said the troops conducted a series of clearance patrols, ambush, raids, cordon and search operations as well as artillery bombardments.
Others operations include anti-piracy, anti-illegal oil bunkering, anti-crude oil theft, anti-pipeline vandalism and anti-smuggling operations were also conducted in the maritime domain.
He said there were also extensive air operations, which included air patrols, Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance missions, offensive air strikes, air interdictions, search and rescue operations as well as close air support for ground troops.
He said these operations yielded appreciable results.
In the Northeast, he said, troops of Operation HADIN KAI rescued kidnapped victims, neutralised scores of terrorists, destroyed terrorists’ enclaves, arrested terrorists and intercepted terrorists’ logistics items, including vehicles.
According to him, the troops had on May 20,2021, while responding to a distress call, engaged Boko Haram terrorists in Gwoza local government area of Borno State and rescued some farmers.
He said during the encounter, several terrorists were neutralised, while some others escaped with varying degrees of bullet wounds.
Also, on same day, he said, troops while conducting aggressive clearance operation on terrorists’ hideouts at Ngaiwa, Tongunle, Washelle, Mo’o, Mudollo, Mugdalla and Amtul villages, all in Dikwa Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State, killed scores of terrorists and recovered large caches of arms and ammunition.
The defence spokesman also revealed that between May 21 and 25, troops conducted cordon-and-search, and raid operations during which they arrested Boko Haram logistics suppliers at Ngamdu town in Kaga LGA of Borno State, New Barracks Location along Damaturu – Potiskum road as well as Kukareta Town in Damaturu LGA of Yobe State.
He listed the items recovered during the operations to include large numbers of jerry cans and drums of PMS, assorted arms and ammunition and assorted logistics items, saying the adding that the seizures drastically dislocated the terrorists’ logistics network in the region.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Brigadier General Onyeuko said, has also been in the thick of the action against terrorists.
According to him, on May 23, 2021, the Air Task Force of Operation HADIN KAI conducted an extensive air interdiction missions near Gudumbali in Guzamal LGA and the Toumbuns of of Borno State, near Lake Chad.
He said the air interdiction missions executed with various NAF platforms resulted in the neutralisation of scores of terrorists and destruction of their camps and logistics facilities.
Furthermore, he said, between May 20 and June 2, 2021, troops of Operation HADARIN DAJI conducted series of concurrent operations which led to the arrest of kidnappers/bandits and gunrunners, rescue of kidnapped victims, repelling of armed bandits’ attack and neutralisation of scores of armed bandits as well as recovery of caches of arms and ammunition.
The defence spokesman said the operations were executed at Jalawa Village in Kibiya LGA of Kano State; Shombo Warari Market Road in Rijau LGA of Niger State; Lugu Village in Wurno LGA of Sokoto State; Hayin Daudu Village under Mada District in Gusau LGA of Zamfara State; Dangeza Road in Batsari LGA of Katsina State.
In a related development, the troops of Operation SAFE HAVEN and other security agencies in the North Central Zone of the country conducted several operations which resulted in the rescue of kidnapped victims, neutralisation of scores of bandits, destruction of bandits’ hideouts and arrest of bandits, he said.
Nigeria Situation Precarious, NASS Tells ECOWAS Parliament
Meanwhile the delegation of lawmakers representing Nigeria at the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Parliament) has presented the horrible security situation of the country to the regional legislature and the attendant devastations on the country.
This assessment was conveyed in the 33-member Nigerian Delegation Country Report delivered to the ECOWAS Parliament yesterday at the ongoing 2021 First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament taking place in Abuja.
The nine-page report was replete with political, security, human rights and health situations, and the status of implementation of the ECOWAS texts.
Leader of the delegation, Hon. Lynda Ikpeazu, told the Community Parliament that “the security situation in Nigeria is dire. There has been a tremendous increase in the spate of unfettered violence, abductions, and killings by terrorist groups, bandits and other criminal elements.”
She further said, “The number of reported security incidents within the reporting period shows a progressive increase in insecurity. In the fourth quarter of 2020, 256 security incidents were recorded in which 384 persons were killed, and 510 persons kidnapped. By the first quarter of 2021, the number of recorded security incidents had increased by 31.25% to 336 incidents, with the number of people killed increasing by 88.54% to at least 724 persons, while the number of those kidnapped rose by 57.25%; this translates to 802 persons.”
The Nigeria Country Report also highlighted that “highways and schools have become target places for the nefarious activities of these bandits and kidnappers, with the North Western region being hardest hit.”
Between December 2020 and April 2021, the report noted, at least 364 students have been kidnapped from their schools, along with countless highway travellers.