In response to security problems in the country, the top leaders of the Nigerian Army have told about 120 major generals, brigadiers, colonels, lieutenants, captains, and other ranks to retire.
The impacted officials, which include those who failed their senior staff course examinations, were given the option of voluntarily retiring or being subjected to a summary retrenchment.
According to the information obtained, the exercise complied with both the 2017 Armed Forces of Nigeria Harmonized Terms and Conditions of Service and the Public Service Rules (Revised).
Considering that the affected individuals were receiving their letters of mandatory retirement in batches, it was learned that the number of senior and middle-level employees who would need to depart the service could be more than 120.
More information showed that the three-month pre-retirement leave for the affected employees would start in January.
Sources say that most of the concerned cops did what they were told to do to avoid retaliation from the authorities.
But this has worried Army members, who are wondering why so many people are being let go.
An officer said that the military leaders didn’t listen to Abubakar Malami, SAN, who was the Attorney-General of the Federation and had ordered that the exercise be put off until after the elections in 2023.
According to the source, “the Army authorities handed letters of mandatory retirement to over 120 top officers.” Major-generals, brigadier-generals, brigadiers, colonels, captains, and other middle-level officers are among the impacted officers who failed their promotion exams three times.
“However, there are two laws that govern this matter: if a person fails their promotion exams three times, they may be given consideration based on the number of years they have held the position.
“Despite telling us that those who failed their tests would be evaluated based on age and position, the authorities broke their word and told us to submit our letters of voluntary retirement.” That is unfair.
People complained that the Army high command didn’t follow the rules, but it turned out that the servicemen were forced to send in their notices of voluntary retirement even though they had the right to complain or appeal later.
The Army’s Military Secretary, Major General J. Abdussalam, is said to have signed the letters that were sent to the affected commanders, which was confirmed by a second source.
The source said that everyone was affected, not just those who didn’t pass their promotion tests but also those with disciplinary cases and those who had worked for the government for the required 35 years.
“More than 100 policemen were requested to submit letters of voluntary retirement,” he stated. The letter containing the military order was dated October 24, 2022, although it was delivered to them some time in November.
They had until December 24, 2022, to submit their letters; if they didn’t, the Nigerian Army would have forced them into retirement. Their final leave will start in either February or March 2023.
“There are many different explanations for the disengagement.” Some of them had to do with age on rank, disciplinary issues, or other factors known to the Military Secretary and Chief of Army Staff (Army).
“Some individuals failed promotion exams three times.” For instance, on their third and last attempt this year, some brigadier-generals failed their promotion exams to major-general.
Findings show that some of the officers, including a former Chief of Staff, had begged senior retired military members for help.
According to Chapter 11, Section 2(e) of the HTACOS, there are signs that the unhappy officers may have gone to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Farouk Yahaya, and the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret.).
According to the provision, an officer who has been ordered to retire, resign, or abandon his commission may, if he so chooses, appeal to Mr. President, the C-in-C (Commander-in-Chief), through the CDS (Chief of Defense Staff), within 30 days to have his case reassessed.
But a few of the affected officers told our reporter, on the condition that they remain anonymous, that they didn’t file an appeal because they were told that the exercise might be looked into.
Under the condition of anonymity, a Major admitted that he did not use the HTACOS’s 30-day appeal window because there were signs that the authorities might change the directive because it had upset and angered Army members who had not yet reached the mandatory retirement age or service years.
We have submitted our letters of voluntary retirement as per the high command’s instructions, but there are encouraging signs that we might receive a reprieve, particularly those of us who have not yet reached 35 years of service, he said.
The Nigerian Army’s director of information, Brig Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, did not respond to requests for comment on Friday, but retired military officer and security specialist Col Hassan Stan-Labo noted that retirement was common practise in the armed forces.
“The army’s personnel are subject to a well-defined HACTOS regime.” Retirement, promotion, and discipline are all annual events on the Army calendar; therefore, it is clear that it is fairly normal.
When asked if the Army’s operational capacity would not be impacted by the annual retirement of personnel without corresponding recruitment, Stan-Labo responded, “The Army cannot sacrifice anything for discipline.” You are not necessary only because you are in a position of importance in the current fight. The Army has a saying that no one is indispensable.
“Therefore, if at any time you feel that you are taking over, you can step back and let someone else handle it.” Thank God, Nigeria has a population of over 250 million people, so we don’t want for labour; the only problem is that they aren’t hiring as many people as we would like in light of the current campaign. Since we anticipate a high rate of turnover, recruitment should be robust.
(PUNCH)
