Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), General Leo Lucky Irabor, has ordered 50 Generals in the Nigerian military to tender their letters of resignation. ayokinews.com reports
The Generals affected cuts across the Army, Air force and Navy, out of which 25 are officers in the Army.
A source who spoke on anonymity, stayed that the order was given by the Chief of Defense Staff, Lucky Irabor, at the Defense Headquarters (DHQ) on Monday.
At around 2:00pm, the CDS thanked the Generals for their years-long meritorious service to the country and told them that it was the right time they exit the military.
But findings showed that the Course-36-Generals still have more than three (3) years left to serve the military.
“They are about 50; 2 of them in the Army will retire in 2022, while the rest have about 3 and half years left in service”, the source revealed.
Another source who also spoke on anonymity wondered why the Nigerian military was laying off experienced hands from service at a time the country is grappling with raging insecurity.
Ironically, same CDS Irabor, intervened in the 2016 forceful retirement of 38 Army officers via a letter titled (Ref. No. CDS/8/A) to Defence Minister, Bashir Magashi, a retired Army Major General.
The affected officers were asked by the Nigerian Army to vacate office in June 2016, an action described as “arbitrary” by those affected.
Taking the matter to court and having won the case, the Nigerian government and military till date are still yet to obey the court judgment ordering the officers’ reabsorption into the force.
In January 2020, Justice Rukiya Hasstrup of the National Industrial Court (NIC) in Abuja, faulted the the decision of the Nigerian Army thereby directing the officers’ reinstatement.
Also in May 2020, Justice Edith Agbakoba approved that contempt of court charge is filed against the then Nigerian Military Chiefs for failing to comply with a valid court order which still stands till this day.
