Guardian / Nigeria: Consequent to the names being circulated in some sections of the media as those retired from the Army, the authorities of the Nigeria Army has distance itself from the publicised lists with numerous names, saying “only” 19 Generals and 19 other senior officers were compulsorily retired by the Army Council.
A statement issued on Sunday by the Acting Director Army Public Relations (AgDAPR) Col. Sani Usman said the speculated and false lists of Officers published by some media Organisations (not the Guardian) is quite contrary to what is truly obtained, with some publishing nearly 50 names of officers Saying it should be disregarded by the public as “it is unethical and unfair”.
He noted that “This is worrisome as some individuals and media houses went to the ridiculous extent of publishing outrageous figures and names of serving officers as being retired”.
Recall that the Army Council had on friday last week approved the recommendations of the Board of Inquiry (BoI) to compulsorily retire some officers that ran foul of the service rules, according to the statement it is “mainly some Major Generals, Brigadier Generals, Colonels, Lieutenant Colonels and a Major”, but did not give the exact number, saying “it is not permitted to give out names of the affected officers, for now. They would be given their letters by the Council”.
The Army statement went on to explain that, “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.”
Usman while lamenting the unfortunate development in his statement on Sunday night said it is expedient to correct the erroneous reports in some media publications and urge the public to disregard the inaccurate list.
“We wish to state that only 38 senior officers were affected by the retirement exercise. For the avoidance of doubt the following is the statistics of the officers retired compulsorily; 9 Major Generals, 10 Brigadier Generals, 7 Colonels, 11 Lieutenant Colonels and a Major.
“This is quite unfortunate because all the affected officers were retired based on Service exigencies and in line with the Armed Forces Act, CAP A20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”
Usman emphasised that the rumours regarding the number and names is circulated to suit some political tilt, that is contrary to the intention of the NA, saying “We are quite aware that some mischievous elements are trying to whip up sentiments”.
He further justified the decision of the Army as a professional institution that is well guided and cannot tolerate partisanship among its Personnel.
“It is pertinent to remind all that the Nigerian Army is a professional institution that is based on highest standards of discipline and conduct. Consequently it’s personnel must remain professional, neutral and apolitical at all times”.
