The Nigerian Army yesterday effected a shake- up in its hierarchy with the redeployment of four General Officers Commanding (GOCs) and appointment of other Principal Staff Officers and Brigade Commanders.
The reshuffle which army spokesman, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, described as part of the effort to reposition the service for operational efficiency, came on the heels of renewed terror attacks across the country, including Abuja where two officers and four soldiers attached to the Guards Brigade were ambushed and killed by terrorists on Sunday.
Terrorists launched a fresh attack on a military checkpoint in Suleja, Niger State, close to the boundary with the Federal Capital Territory on Thursday night, killing some soldiers.
The new GOCs are Major General UT Musa who now takes charge of 82 Division; Major General TA Lagbaja, 1 Division; Major General OC Ajunwa, 81 Division; and Major General AS Chinade, 2 Division.
The newly appointed Army Headquarters Principal Staff Officers include: Maj Gen OW Ali (Chief of Administration); Maj-Gen S Muhammed (Chief of Army Standards and Evaluation (Army); Major-Gen JA Ataguba (Director Peace Keeping Operations); Major General A.A. Adesope (Chief of Defence Accounts and Budget); and Major General US Mohammed (Senior Research Fellow Nigerian Army Resource Centre).
Also affected are Maj-Gen PB Fakrogha ( Director Policy Plans and Research); Maj-Gen. M.O. Enendu (Director Psychological Warfare); Maj Gen AE Attu (Commander, Defence Headquarters Garrison); and Maj Gen BE Onyeuko (Director,Procurement). He was until now at the Defence Headquarters Directorate of Defence Media Operations.
Nwachukwu named the newly appointed Corps Commanders as Maj-Gen AM Alabi (Corps Commander Ordnance), Maj Gen A Mohammed (Corps Commander Electrical Mechanical Engineers); Maj-Gen E Akerejola (Commander Corps of Supply and Transport); Maj Gen AA Fayemiwo (Chief of Accounts and Budget (Army).
He added: “Senior officers newly appointed as Commandants of Nigerian Army Training Institutions are Major General PI Eze from Defence Headquarters Department of Procurement to Nigerian Army Ordinance School and appointed Commandant; Major General AA Adeyinka from Army Headquarters Department of Army Logistics to Nigerian Army College of Logistics and appointed Commandant.
”Major General PP Malla from Army Headquarters Department of Army Administration to Depot Nigerian Army and appointed Commandant as well as Brigadier General UT Otaru from Defence Headquarters to Nigerian Army School of Supply and Transport and appointed Acting Commandant.
“The newly appointed Brigade Commanders are Brigadier General DH Ndahi, from Nigerian Army Resource Centre to Headquarters 4 Brigade and appointed Commander; Brig Gen FS Etim from Amphibious Training School to Headquarters 6 Brigade and appointed Commander; Brigadier General EA Orakwe from Headquarters 6 Division to Headquarters 19 Brigade and appointed Commander; Brigadier General JO Are from Army Headquarters Department of Army Standards and Evaluation to Headquarters 3 Brigade and appointed Commander, amongst others.
“The Chief of Army Staff has directed all the newly appointed senior officers to redouble their effort and commitment to duty in tackling the security challenges bedeviling the nation, as they assume their new appointments”.
Gunmen attack military checkpoint in Niger
Terrorists struck afresh on Thursday night, attacking a military checkpoint at Madalla, close to Niger State boundary with the Federal Capital Territory.
The Cable quoted the LGA’s information officer, Jibril Bisallah, as saying: “Actually, it happened. You know there is a military checkpoint directly at the Zuma Rock area. That was where the attack happened yesterday.
“The military that was at the checkpoint is under the guards brigade. They are under the 102 Battalion of Zuma Barracks.
”Of course, there were casualties but I could not confirm the number. From the report I got yesterday, there were casualties from the military but we could not ascertain if there were casualties among the attackers.”
Gumi deplores FG’s planned sanction of BBC, Daily Trust over terrorists’ story
Popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, yesterday kicked over plan by the federal government to sanction the BBC and Daily Trust for allegedly glorifying terrorism.
The two media had recently featured stories on the activities of terror groups and their leaders in the North West with Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed warning on Thursday that the BBC and Daily Trust ”will not get away with this naked glorification of terrorism and banditry in Nigeria.”
But Gumi, who has been advocating dialogue between government and the terrorists and had even at some point intervened to get some abducted Nigerians released by the gunmen, said yesterday that the government threat amounted to blackmail of the media outfits.
His words: ”FG’s attempt in trying to find a scapegoat to justify its glaring failure after wasting over $16 billion in the last seven years without any commensurate result on security and efforts to blackmail certain media organisations for their patriotism in reporting the crisis is unfortunate and should be resisted by all responsible media organisations.
”What is happening in Nigeria today, especially in the North West as clearly captured by the BBC, is more of an ethnic war and reprisal killings and attacks due to the government’s failure to address well-documented instances of injustices that were initially done to the Fulanis.
“What do you expect from a society (Fulani) that was left in total ignorance and lack of education, especially when their primary means of livelihood (cattle) has been completely rustled by other criminal elements within and outside our security agencies without any effort by the government to address the injustice?
“As I talk to you now, cattle rustling has not stopped. Many law-abiding Fulanis have fallen victims to the official extortion of their cows. I have well-documented evidence involving some security agents in which I personally intervened. How do you expect as a government to address insecurity, especially related to Fulani bandits without addressing such instances of extortion and rustling?
”When a Commander-in-Chief rewards failure with ambassadorial appointments in a system and a society that records increased attacks, when security agencies cannot even protect Abuja and especially when the Guards Brigade cannot even protect themselves not to talk of the President, then why blame the media for such failure and ineptitude for reporting it?