Army Retires 11 Generals, 36 Others

Indications have emerged in Abuja that about 47 officers of the Nigerian Army including eight (8) Major Generals and some Brigadier Generals have been retired by the Nigerian Army in line with the terms and conditions of service. The retirements which flowed from the ranks of Major Generals, Brigadier Generals, Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels down to those of Captains and Majors according to military sources followed the approval of the recommendations submitted to the council by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General KTJ Minimah. Saturday Vanguard gathered that the Army Council is headed by President Goodluck Jonathan and it has as members, the Minister of Defence, Aliyu Gusau, Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Alhaji Aliyu Sumaila took the decision on Wednesday. The officers according to sources were retired based on the fact that many of them had been caught by age on rank rule. Others were retired because they were non-deployable owing to lack of capacity among other reasons. Some were retired because they have failed promotions examination on the three occasions they got the opportunity (non-promotability). Others were retired having put in their papers for voluntary retirement because they have either attained the mandatory retirement age for their ranks. Some of the Major Generals who are 57 years or have completed above mandatory 35 years in service as stipulated in the civil service are affected. Among the group of those that voluntarily retired are some officers who held positions as Principal Staff Officers, General Officers Commanding and Commandant of Army Training Institutions during the tenure of the former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Onyeabor Azubuike Ihejirika •Army officers’ wives protest posting of husbands to fight Boko Haram Authorities of the Nigerian Army have set up a board of inquiry to investigate the circumstances that led to the protest of wives of soldiers in Army barracks Enugu. Military sources told Saturday Vanguard that the wives of soldiers of 103 battalion at Enugu sometime last week, took to the streets protesting the posting of their husbands to Maiduguri to join in the war against insurgency. The source revealed, that the wives numbering over 200, protested throughout the day, demanding the army authorities to bring back their husbands. According to the source, the wives of the soldiers claimed that their husbands did not join the army to die hence they (husbands) should be left afar from the war zone so that the wives don’t become widows and the children fatherless at such young ages. It was gathered that, the army authorities in 82 Division Enugu, had to address the women and assured them that their husbands are safe and alive, before nerves could be calmed. It was gathered that the women had written series of letters to the army authorities to bring back their husbands which did not see the light of day hence they had to embark on the protest to call the attention of the authorities to their plight.