In an
apparent bid to re-jig the nation’s security apparatus in the wave of growing
insurgent attacks and suicide bombings, President Muhammadu Buhari, 45 days
after assuming office, yesterday sacked all the service chiefs and appointed
replacements whom he said were chosen on merit.
The new security
helmsmen are Major-General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin (Chief of Defence Staff);
Major-General T.Y. Buratai (Chief of Army Staff), Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe
Ibas (Chief of Naval Staff) and Air Vice-Marshal Sadique Abubakar (Chief of Air
Staff). The rest are Air Vice Marshal Monday Riku Morgan (Chief of Defence
Intelligence) and retired Major-General Babagana Monguno (National Security
Adviser)
This was
contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the Special Adviser to the
President, Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina.
The statement
said the new Service Chiefs would hold their appointments in an acting capacity
until confirmed by the Senate.
Those relieved of
their jobs yesterday include Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh and
the National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki. Others are Chief of Army
Staff, Kenneth Minimah; Chief of Naval Staff, Usman Jibrin; and Chief of Air
Staff, Adesola Amosu.
Badeh and the
former Army, Air Force and Naval chiefs were appointed by former president, Dr.
Goodluck Jonathan in January 2014, a month after he sacked the previous top
brass.
That followed a
daring raid against a military installation in the north-eastern city of
Maiduguri, which saw aircraft destroyed and weapons seized.
“The President
has relieved the service chiefs, including the heads of the Army, Air Force and
Navy of their appointments,” Femi Adesina stated, adding, “President Buhari
thanks the outgoing service chiefs and National Security Adviser for their
services to the nation and wishes them well in their future endeavours.”
Buratai, from
Borno State — the worst affected by the insurgency — has been commander of the
new, strengthened regional force against Boko Haram which is due to be deployed
later this month.
A new commander
for the multi-national force will now be appointed, Adesina said.
You were chosen
on merit — Buhari
President
Muhammadu Buhari has said that the appointment of the new Service Chiefs was on
merit.
Addressing them
shortly after their appointments were announced, the President also called on
them to show utmost commitment to their new duties, urging them to regain the
lost glory of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
He promised to
send their names immediately to the senate for confirmation.
“All of you,
including the National Security Adviser, were chosen on merit. Your records
gave you the job. Save for the new Chief of Army Staff whom I briefly met at
his Command at the Multi-National Joint Task Force, in Chad, I don’t know any
of you. Your records recommended you.
“Legally, you are
in acting capacity until the National Assembly accepts you. It is only then
that you will take the oath of office. Thereafter, we will sit down and talk in
more detail,” President Buhari told the new service chiefs.
Their sack long
overdue
The move elicited
commendations from some eminent Nigerians, who said it was long overdue, given
the increasing wave of the Boko Haram insurgency.
The military
command has come under heavy criticism for its poor handling of the six-year
insurgency that has seen the deaths of more than 15,000 people and forced
another 1.5 million to flee their homes.
Under the
commanders’ watch, the militants captured swathes of territory, including towns
and villages in the remote North-East in its quest to establish a hardline
Islamic state.
In addition, the
sacked military chiefs were unable to free more than 200 schoolgirls abducted
in the North-eastern town of Chibok on April 14 last year, despite repeated
promises.
Boko Haram has
stepped up its attacks since Buhari became president on May 29, with a wave of
raids, explosions and suicide bombings against civilians. About 600 people have
been killed since May 29, 2015.
The surge in
violence has sparked concern that gains made by the armies of Nigeria, Niger,
Chad and Cameroon against the insurgents since February this year are being
eroded.
Profile of the
new service chiefs
Major-General
T.Y. Buratai – Chief of Army Staff
Major General TY
Buratai who hails from Borno State was the Force Commander of the
Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) before his appointment. He has served
as Director at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja and also served as the Brigade
Commander at 2 Brigade, Nigerian Army Port Harcourt as well as Commander, Joint
Task Force, Operation PULO SHIELD. Maj-Gen. Buratai has also served as
Commander of the Nigerian Army School of Infantry in Jaji, Kaduna State.
Major-General
Babagana Monguno (rtd.) – National Security Adviser
Has worked as
Commander, Nigerian Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), in Minna,
Niger State.
Major-General
Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin – Chief of Defence Staff
The new Chief of
Defence Staff, Maj.-Gen. Olonisakin (N/6901) hails from Ekiti State. Until his
appointment as Chief of Defence Staff , he was the Head of the Nigerian Army
Training and Doctrine Command in Minna, Niger State.
Rear Admiral
Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas – Chief of Naval Staff
He hails from
Cross River State. He enlisted into the Nigerian Defence Academy as a member of
the 26th Regular Course in 1979 and was commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant in
1983. His previous appointments include Naval Provost-Marshal, Chief Staff
Officer, Naval Training Command, Chief of Administration, Naval Headquarters,
Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command and Chief of Logistics, Naval
Headquarters. Until his appointment as Chief of Naval Staff, he was the Chief
Executive Officer of Navy Holdings Limited.
Air Vice Marshal
Sadique Abubakar – Chief of Air Staff
(NAF/1433) hails
from Bauchi State. His previous appointments include Chief of Standards and
Evaluation, NAF Headquarters; Chief of Defence Communications and Air Officer
Commanding, NAF Training Command. Until his new appointment as Chief of Air
Staff, he was the Chief of Administration, NAF Headquarters.
DSS hails
Monguno’s appointment
Reacting to the
appointment, both serving and retired officers of the Department of State
Services (DSS) expressed satisfaction with the appointment of Major-General
Babagana Monguno as the National Security Adviser over former Chief of Army
Staff, General Abdulrahman Dambazzau who had been widely touted as favourite
for the job.
Some operatives
of the service who spoke with Vanguard shortly after the new set of security
chiefs were announced noted that with the appointment of Monguno as the NSA,
there is bound to be greater inter-agency co-operation amongst the nation’s
security agencies.
They deserved to
be sacked—Sagay
Constitutional
lawyer, Professor Itse Sagay, SAN, said the decision by the President to sack
the NSA and service chiefs was expected.
Sagay said: “In
fact, it has taken too long. These were all Jonathan’s men, loyal to Jonathan,
who were ready to sabotage the election in order to allow Jonathan re-plan.
These are all anti-Buhari and anti-APC people. They should have been sacked
long ago. Their sack was overdue, they deserved to be sacked.”
It’s long
overdue—Ajulo, LP scribe
Sagay has a soul
mate in the National Secretary of the Labour Party, LP, Dr Kayode Ajulo, who
also said, ‘’the sack is long overdue, there is nothing unusual in the sack of
the service chiefs.”
It’s kudos to
Buhari –Ekujumi
Also speaking,
the National Chairman of the Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate
(CPPM), Nelson Ekujumi, congratulated President Buhari on the move and urged
him to probe the role of the former service chiefs in the war against the Boko
Haram insurgency.
His words: “We
regard this sack as a long awaited and welcome development which will go a long
way in repositioning and enhancing our democracy”.
- Vanguard
