President Bola Tinubu has approved the replacement of all service chiefs, Inspector-General of Police, advisors, and Comptroller-General of Customs.
Development Diaries reports that Tinubu took this action three weeks after promising to reform Nigeria’s security architecture.
‘President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) has approved the immediate retirement of all Service Chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police, Advisors, Comptroller-General of Customs from service as well as their replacements with immediate effect’, a statement from the presidency read.
The newly appointed officers are Nuhu Ribadu as National Security Advisor, Major General C.G Musa as Chief of Defence Staff, Major T. A. Lagbaja as Chief of Army Staff, and Rear Admiral E. A. Ogalla as Chief of Naval Staff.
Others are AVM H.B. Abubakar as Chief of Air Staff, DIG Kayode Egbetokun as Acting Inspector-General of Police, and Major General EPA Undiandeye as Chief of Defence Intelligence.
Nigeria ranked sixth on the 2022 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) as the country struggled to curtail insurgency, kidnapping, banditry and other forms of security threats during the administration of Muhammadu Buhari, who handed over power to Tinubu on 29 May, 2023.
In fact, some civil society actors in the country, including the Chief Executive of Connected Development (CODE), Hamzat Lawal, had called for the sacking of the service chiefs following the attack on the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kuje area of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, in July 2022.
The attack, which, once again, exposed the general insecurity in the country, was carried out by over 300 terrorists, and not less than 800 inmates, including 64 Boko Haram terrorists, were freed.
In his inaugural speech, Tinubu said, ‘We shall invest more in our security personnel, and this means more than an increase in number. We shall provide better training, equipment, pay and firepower’.
Development Diaries calls on the president to ensure that underperforming officers do not get kid-glove treatment.
We also call on the commander-in-chief to ensure that the government fulfils its promise to invest more in the country’s security personnel.
Photo source: Bola Ahmed Tinubu
