… Anxiety as nation awaits list of sacked officers

The anxiety generated by the announcement that 38 senior Army officers approaching the peak of their career were abruptly terminated has continued to filter to other services. To add to this apprehension is the nail-biting reasons given for their inglorious retirement from the Army.

The Acting Director Army Public Relations (Ag.DAPR) Colonel Sani Usman had in the early hours of June 11, 2016 issued a statement to inform the public that “quite a number of senior officers of the Nigerian Army were retired from service”, following the approval of the Army Council. Consequently, the media went berserk with speculations, at to the number and identities of officers affected

As the suppositions persisted, the Army spokesman having earlier declined to reveal the number and names of the offices, came out to say only 38 senior officers were affected by the retirement exercise, as against the conjectured figure that varied from media to media. Usman explained that nine major-generals, 10 brigadier generals, seven colonels, 11 lieutenant colonels and a major were affected, but still did not give the identities, fueling more speculations.

While the identities of the compulsorily retired officers remain concealed as far as the Army authorities are concerned, the justification for their ‘retirement’ from the Army has remained a point of argument, as various commentators as well as political observers have continued to ascribe different motives to the massive purge.

During the week, the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, said the officers were found guilty of professional corruption, saying, “we made sure that all those affected were indicted in one way or the other for both professional and monetary corruption. By professional corruption, I mean, if you are partisan, you are professionally corrupt and you will be asked to go; that is exactly what happened, so, all those that were indicted were asked to go.

“Of course, they were giving fair hearing, a board called them and they went and testified. Don’t forget that in the military there is no half way of doing things, the moment you are found wanting, you have to succumb and you will go,” the retired Brigadier General said.

Earlier, Usman had cautioned, “their retirement was based on service exigencies. It should be recalled that not too long ago, some officers were investigated for being partisan during the 2015 General Elections. The military must remain apolitical and professional at all times. We must applaud and support this laudable and bold initiative by the government…People should therefore not read this out of context.”

While some security experts see it as appropriate within the precinct of service ethics, rules and regulations, some commentators see it as politically motivated, considering that the officers served in the preceding administration and their loyalty to the current is in doubt.

According to Air Commodore Yusuf Anas (Rtrd), every institution has its standard ethical codes, rule and regulations. It is expected that every member of that establishment know what is contained therein. The Army is not an exception; every officer knows the consequences that await him or her, if they go against the rules.

“So, from the little I found out, the committee set up to investigate the matter rigorously applied all the rules in affecting the recommendations that led to the disengagement of the officers concerned.

“To say it is vendetta would not be right, as the rules and regulations in the military are sacrosanct, anybody who breaches these rules certainly knows that he would be subjected to it, if they say they must disengage, for whatever reason, you must obey and face the law,”Anas said.

While citing the action taken by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in 1999, when he disengaged all military officers, who had held political appointments, not withstanding their ranks or years of service, Anas, who is the Executive Secretary of the Centre for Crisis Communication, said, “we are aware that one of the affected senior officers is currently standing trial in the court, charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for allegedly collecting N8b into his account paid in by NIMASA (Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency). This was not declared to the Headquarters of the Nigeria Army, so it could not be specified what the money was meant for.

“Money paid into an individual’s account by a government agency, a commander will receive money like that without his headquarters knowing, this is a breach of loyalty and such financial dealings certainly won’t be condoned by any responsible organisation. These are the type of cases the Army investigated and punitive administrative measures taken as appropriate,” the former Nigeria Air Force (NAF) spokesman said.

In the same vein, communication expert, Professor Umar Pate, of the Bayero University Kano said the Army had given an explanation that a Committee was set up to investigate the situation and came up with recommendations. So, there is no partisanship in that as the Army is a professional organisation with rules and regulations.

“If there is a coup d’ tat, the judgment is very clear. Discipline should remain the watchword in the military. I see the army as the custodian of the nation’s unity, and the army must be looked up to in terms of discipline, standard and helping Nigeria to remain a united country.

“Therefore, politicians and other individuals need to be much more careful in assessing all of this. People are talking about ethnicity, religion, sections and so on, but these things are not helpful in this kind of situation. There have been situations like this in the past, if other institutions like the civil service, judiciary tried to remain without discipline in some ways, the Army cannot afford to do that. Discipline in the military is sacrosanct, when we have a leadership that is ready to address these issues, it should be given the support. Not so long ago, our soldiers were running away from Boko Haram terrorists, now that things are getting better, why are we engaging in the argument, we need to understand the way the Army works and we need to understand the reasons that they raised,” he said.

Others in this light also said the military operates in codes, despite all of these, they will not come out to give every piece of details of what the affected persons have done for the public to know, as more than 200 soldiers were interrogated before this conclusion was reached.

For Anthony Igyuve, almost all the purged officers were those that served the previous administration, so, it is not completely convincing that the action is devoid of political undertones.

“How is it possible that the Army has retired nine Major Generals and 10 Brigadier Generals, Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels for political reasons and fraud, and the offence of the affected officers is their participation in the previous elections, suffice that the officers were prominent if not diligent, in performing their assigned duties.

“Again we are talking about curtailing the security challenges in the country. These are officers that would have brought their expertise to positively affect the operations. They are retiring with the knowledge they have acquired over the years,” Igyuve said.
Other commentators are of the opinion that the precedence being set with these retirements, perceived to be politically motivated, is not in the interest of the Army in the long run, as political appointments now would be a pariah for those who desire to reach the pinnacle of their chosen career.

Another observer said the question of ensuring or restoring discipline in the Army sounds rather convenient, because Nigerians are aware that the Institution is already politicized. “A lot of money has been spent to train these officers to attain these ranks, so they would just be asked to go without putting it to use for the country. That is a waste, and the government is talking about curtailing wastages.”

Although the affected officers have the Armed Forces Council to contend with, as none of the officers named in some media publications, even the ones facing trial for electoral fraud, has agreed to have received a letter of disengagement, nor seen the authentic list, which according to military sources, is been housed in the Office of the Army Secretary.

The Army spokesman had in one of his releases cited the Armed Forces Act, CAP A20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 to justify the legality of the actions. It is however pertinent to mention that the Minister of Defence, Brig-Gen. Mansur Dan-Ali, who chairs the Army and NAF Councils, as well as, the Navy Board and is also a member of the Armed Forces Council chaired by the president, sources said, was vehement about ensuring professionalism and discipline in the Nigeria Army, before approving the recommendations of the Board of Inquiry to compulsorily retire the 38 officers. He can also chair the council’s sitting, if given the presidential nod. It is hoped, that those who sit in trial over others will also be apolitical.