Following the rumour making the rounds that some military men were planning to violently overthrow the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari and institute a military dictatorship in the country, the Nigerian Army is set to effect a massive redeployment of some senior officers, who are holding strategic positions.
This is coming on the heels of another rumour that a shake-up of the rank and file is imminent due to the revelations that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Tukur Buratai, owns choice properties in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The imminent posting of officers at the level of command and operation, might not be unconnected with the statement by a Niger Delta militant group, which alleged that some senior officers solicited its support to overthrow the government.
Consequent upon the rumoured coup plot, Buratai, who had earlier summoned the General Officers Commanding (GOCs) of the seven divisions of the Nigerian Army, Principal Staff Officers (PSOs), as well as other officers on operational commands, is said to be hatching a plan that will ensure the officers are scattered and uncoordinated. However, a senior officer, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said there was going to be what he termed “guided redeployment” in the operational cadre of the army.
N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g , he maintained that redeployment and postings in the Nigerian Army were a routine exercise. “It is inevitable that changes will come in order to inject new blood into the command chain. “Even if there is no rumoured coup, the Chief of Army Staff will, from time to time, inject new blood into the command, in order to strengthen it.
It is inevitable that the changes will come,” the source said. In the same vein, some members of the rank and file said they were not satisfied with the response of the COAS to the report of his offshore properties. Some of the junior soldiers who spoke with Saturday Telegraph noted that the report and the response of the COAS had generated ill feeling within the rank and file.
A Second Lieutenant, who was recently redeployed from his base in the southern part of the country to the North, said it was unthinkable what was happening among the top echelon. “How could somebody own two houses in Dubai and they are claiming to be holier than thou? You have only heard of Buratai’s case, what about other generals that have not been exposed?
“The truth is that some of these people were involved in the arms deal because they were all sharing the money together under Jonathan. One of our ogas was in charge of procurement, another one was in charge of finance, all of them have houses in US, not only Dubai,” he said.
Asked about the authenticity of a planned rowdy session when they meet the COAS, another soldier, who happens to be a captain, said they can’t be rowdy but will make their grievances known.“No, we can’t do that. They will accuse us of going against the rule and that is mutiny.
Remember what they did to those people that protested in Ondo the other time; they will use anybody as a scapegoat. But we won’t just let it die; we will have a way of calling attention to this anomaly. “That is part of the reason we are talking to you; some of the top shots are very corrupt, but the C-in-C is not aware, he doesn’t know that most of these people should be retired,” the captain said.
Buratai, who had blamed the political class and some officers for the rumoured coup plot, however, said it would be foolhardy for anyone to attempt any disruption, even as he maintained that the ongoing probe was in the interest of national security. “We see it (coup rumour) as an attempt to show some misgivings by some officers and the political class, but they will fail,” the COAS had said.
It would be recalled that the GOC 1 Division, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade had, for the umpteenth time, reiterated the loyalty of the Nigerian Army to the constituted authority.Adeniyi, who had briefed journalists after the emergency security meeting, had said: “The Chief of Army Staff summoned his top commanders across the Army for a quick meeting recently.
Essentially, the meeting was to review the security situation in the country and to also let us know some of the reorganisation that has taken place over the last few days. “You are aware that there was reorganisation of the Niger Delta operations; it has changed from the erstwhile Operation Pulo Shield to Operation Delta Safe and the Army is still very strong and we will continue to do everything to ensure that issues of oil theft and pipeline vandalism will be severely curtailed in conjunction with our sister services, the Nigerian Navy and the Air Force and other security agencies. “We also did a review of the operation in the North east.
It is going reasonably well. There are challenges here and there but we want to assure the nation that in no distant future we will bring the operation to a close, we are working very hard on that. “Also, we want to reiterate that in all our operations across the length and breadth of this country the issue of our rules of engagement is like our Bible; we have had some discussions but we want to assure the public and the generality of our citizens that the Army will abide by the rules of engagement.
“We also want to commend the civilian JTF who have also done a tremendous job in the North East and we will continue to solicit their support to finally rid the country of terrorism. “You must have also heard in the last few days of rumours of coup or no coup. We want to assure all our citizens that the Army remains apolitical.
Our loyalty, allegiance to the constituted authority of this land, the three branches of government, Mr. President and Commander-in-Chief, our loyalty is unquestionable. “We have decided long before now, since the beginning of the Fourth Republic, to abide by our code of conduct and to remain subordinate to the civil authority. That has not changed and it will not change.”
