Nigeria’s president’s move comes after the military denied rumors of a coup plot amid reports that military personnel had been arrested.
Nigeria’s president has replaced the top security officials as the West African country grapples with unabated violence in its conflict-hit north and a myriad of security challenges.
Friday’s unrest came after local media reported that more than a dozen military personnel, including brigadiers and colonels, were arrested in September and the government denied rumors of a coup plot.
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In a brief statement, President Bola Tinubu said he had “approved changes to the military hierarchy to further strengthen Nigeria’s national security architecture.”
According to a presidential spokesperson, Tinubu on Friday fired three senior security officials: Chief of Defense Staff Christopher Musa; Chief of Naval Staff Emmanuel Ogara and Chief of Air Staff Hassan Abubakar.
Tinubu appointed former Chief of Army Staff, Olufemi Oluyede, as the new Chief of Defense Staff.
Mr. Shaib, Mr. Abbas and SK Aneke were appointed as the chiefs of staff of the army, air force and navy.
Spokesperson Sunday Dare said in a statement that the President charged them with the increased professionalism, vigilance and comradeship that characterize the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The military denied on Saturday that there was a coup plot, but local media and some analysts were not convinced.
Confidence McHarry, a security analyst at Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence, told AFP news agency that “changes in military leadership are a normal and routine procedure in Nigeria.”
At the same time, he also stated that the military has not been able to convincingly deny the suspicion of a coup plot.
He added: “This revamp could be a way to turn the tables on coup leaders who are said to have complained of stagnant career advancement, or to punish military leaders who have failed to improve security.”
Prioritize protection
The change also comes as Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, has been rocked 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, a separatist group in southeastern Nigeria.
Various armed groups operate throughout the country.
Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown militant group, has made a major resurgence in the north this year. The group took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose radical Islamic law.
On the other hand, criminal groups that specialize in kidnapping and looting for ransom (commonly referred to as bandits) also dominate.
In recent months, militants from the armed group have repeatedly seized military outposts, dug up roads with bombs and attacked civilian communities, raising fears of a return to security peaks a decade ago.
Earlier this year, the U.S. government approved a $346 million arms sale to strengthen Nigeria’s fight against insurgents and criminal organizations.
Meanwhile, in the last three years Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have all been taken over by military regimes, and analysts warn that this trend could continue across West Africa.
“Some of us expected these changes to come,” Sen. Iloegbu, an Abuja-based security analyst, told The Associated Press.
“This also means that in the current situation, the government [in Nigeria] They may prioritize protecting the regime over other security threats. ”
