Nigeria’s president has replaced top security officials as the West African country grapples with rampant violence – hitting out at the security challenges of the North and South Africa.
PRIKA WA MAHALA UPHAKATHI came as the Government denied rumors of a coup plot after reports of local soldiers being arrested in September, including a Brigadier General and a colonel.
“I have agreed to reforms in the criminality of our armed forces to continue to strengthen the construction of security in the country of Nigeria,” said President Bola Tinubu in a brief statement.
According to the President’s spokesperson, Tinubu sacked three top security officials on Friday – Christopher Musa, the chief of security staff; Emmanuel Ogalla, Chief of Naval Staff, and Hassan Abubakar, Chief of Air Staff.
Tinibu has appointed Olufemi Oluyede, a former army chief of staff, as the new Chief of Defense Staff.
Shaibu, I am Abbas and Sk Aneke were appointed as chiefs of army, air force, and navy.
The president took part in improving “the technology, vigilance and ComRadevip defining the armed forces of Nigeria,” the agency’s spokesperson said on Sunday in a statement.
While the military on Saturday denied that there was a coup plot, the media and other analysts were convinced.
“The military leadership is reviving normal and normal processes in Nigeria,” Self-confidence Machence, a security analyst at Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence, told AFP News Agency.
At the same time, “the military failed to deny with certainty that” the plot was suspected, he said.
“So this development could be a way to take the wind out of the sails of the coup plotners” who were reported to have complained about the computers “or as a way to punish the military officials for the failure of the military to improve security”, he added.
‘Protection first’ is protection
The changes are also as Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, was rocked by protests this week. Police fired tear gas and arrested dozens of demonstrators who took to the streets to demand the release of Ambassador Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra Supatist Group who are seeking independence in the South African region.
A wide spectrum of armed groups operate throughout the country.
In the north, Boko Haram, a Nigerian armed group, this year repositioned. The group took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose its own version of Islamic law.
Meanwhile, criminal gangs involved in kidnapping for ransom and extortion – often referred to as bandits – also dominate.
In recent months, armed group attackers have re-entered the military, four roads with bombs and communities attacked by civilians, rejecting the possible fear of the high recovery of the last decade.
Earlier this year, the US government accepted the sale of $ 346m in tests for combating insurgency and criminal groups.
Meanwhile, in the region three years ago, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger each saw military takeovers — a trend that paid off with warnings across West Africa.
“Some of us see these changes coming,” said Senator Iroegbu, an Abuja-based security analyst told organized press.
“This also means that in the current state of events, management [in Nigeria] it may be prioritizing the defense of the state over any other security threats. “
