Nigeria’s president has replaced top security officials as the West African country grapples with unabated violence in the conflict-hit north and myriad security challenges.
Friday’s shake-up comes as the government has denied rumours of a coup plot in the wake of local media reports that more than a dozen military officers were arrested in September, including a brigadier general and a colonel.
“I have approved changes in the hierarchy of our armed forces to further strengthen Nigeria’s national security architecture,” President Bola Tinubu said in a brief statement.
According to the presidential spokesperson, Tinubu fired three top security officials on Friday – Christopher Musa, chief of defence staff; Emmanuel Ogalla, chief of naval staff, and Hassan Abubakar, chief of air staff.
Tinubu appointed Olufemi Oluyede, the former chief of army staff, as the new chief of defence staff.
Shaibu, I Abbas and SK Aneke were appointed as the chiefs of army, air force, and naval staff.
The president tasked them with improving “the professionalism, vigilance and comradeship that define the Armed Forces of Nigeria,” spokesperson Sunday Dare said in a statement.
While the military on Saturday denied that there was a coup plot, local media and some analysts are not convinced.
“Military leadership reshuffle is a very normal and regular procedure in Nigeria,” Confidence MacHarry, a security analyst at Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence, told the AFP news agency.
At the same time, the “military has failed to convincingly deny” the alleged coup plot, he said.
“This shake-up could thus be a means of taking the wind out of the sails of coup plotters” who reportedly complained about career stagnation “or as a means of punishment for the military chiefs for their failure to improve security”, he added.
‘Prioritising’ protection
The changes also come as Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, was shaken by protests this week. Police fired tear gas and arrested dozens of demonstrators who took to the streets to demand the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra separatist group that seeks independence for Nigeria’s southeastern region.
A wide spectrum of armed groups operate across the country.
In the north, Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown armed group, this year mounted a major resurgence. The group took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose its radical version of Islamic law.
Meanwhile, criminal groups specialising in kidnapping for ransom and looting – commonly referred to as bandits – are also dominant.
In recent months, armed group fighters have repeatedly overrun military outposts, mined roads with bombs and raided civilian communities, raising fears of a possible return to the peak insecurity of a decade ago.
Earlier this year, the US government approved the sale of $346m in arms to bolster Nigeria’s fight against insurgency and criminal groups.
Meanwhile, regionally in the past three years, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger each saw a military takeover – a trend that analysts warn could continue across West Africa.
“Some of us saw these changes coming,” said Senator Iroegbu, a security analyst based in Abuja told The Associated Press.
“This also means that in the current state of events, the administration [in Nigeria] might be prioritising regime protection above any other security threats.”
