By Aiyeku Timothy
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, appointed Major-General I. Attahiru as the Chief of Army Staff to replace Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai who had served in the office since July 2015.
Attahiru, who hails from Kaduna North Local Government, started rising to limelight after his appointment to lead the offensive against Boko Haram in the North-East in May 2017 and later removed under controversial circumstances. He was replaced by General Nicholas Rogers.
He went through some travails under his predecessor, facing removal as the Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, following one of the deadliest attacks on Biu town in Borno where at least 18 people were killed and 52 others seriously injured.
It was claimed that Buratai was unimpressed with the development and had in August issued a rare ultimatum of ‘40 days’ for the theatre commander to arrest the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, and put an end to the incessant Boko Haram attacks.
Former Borno Governor Kashim Shettima was outspoken in his criticism, indicting Attahiru and described him as incompetent, stressing that what could not be achieved by a northern army officer had been done by his successor, Major Gen. Nicholas Rogers, an officer of Southeast origin.
This is after Attahiru was relieved by Buratai as the Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole and a major security relief and gains against the insurgents were recorded under Rogers.
The governor therefore said the successes recorded by the military in six weeks under Rogers was commendable.
Against this backdrop, an investigation revealed that Attahiru was shown the way out for what was termed liberality and divulging information to general public about happenings to the troop.
Meanwhile, the report revealed that there has been fraud in the Nigerian Army especially with the war against insurgency in the North East code named ‘operation Lafiya Dole’ as millions of naira go unaccounted for.
The military hierarchy has therefore been accused of deeply enmeshed in corruption that tends to put in reverse the gains of the war against insurgency. Officers were posted on the basis of involvement in such draconian schemes which the former theatre commander for Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, refused and was viewed as an enemy to his current predecessor.
Buratai was believed to have ordered Attahiru’s reposting because he was seen as a threat.
This adds to the open individual protests at different times by officers on the battle field calling on the Army Chief to make provisions for logistics and ammunition to able to conquer the insurgents.
The replacement of the Service Chiefs by President Buhari comes after numerous calls for their sack over the increasing insecurity in the country.
The Senate in July last year, called on the service chiefs to step aside. They reiterated the call in December after 43 farmers were killed in Zabarmari, Borno State, by Boko Haram terrorists.
Senator Ibrahim Shekarau had accused the President of breaking the law by keeping the Service Chiefs, who had been in their positions since 2015.
“The President is breaking the law, the law says if you are 60 you must go, it is automatic,” Shekarau said.
“If you are 35 years in service, you must go. In fact, they are not staff of Mr. President, they are the staff of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and there is a rule.”
