Nigerian Army'
We were unfairly treated,' sacked officers condemn military authority
But some of the affected officers said they were sacked for being
close to some military chiefs during the Goodluck Jonathan
administration.
Some of the senior army officers who were sacked by the Nigerian Army high command last week have described the action as unfair and unfortunate.
The director, Army Public Relations, Col Sani Kukasheka Usman,
on Friday, June 10, announced the compulsory retirement of 38 army
officers, saying the affected officers were retired "based on service
exigencies and in line with the Armed Forces Act, CAP A20 laws of the
Federation of Nigeria 2004."
He said their
retirement was connected to the role defence contracts which is being
investigated by a Presidential committee and the 2015 general elections.
But some of the affected officers said they were sacked for being close to some military chiefs during the Goodluck Jonathan administration including the embattled former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.
“Obviously,
the new military establishment came with the mindset of doing away with
any officer who worked closely with the former leadership of the
service,” one of the affected officers, did not want to be named told Daily Trust.
“That’s
why we were portrayed as villains in the eye of the press and the world
at large, and surreptitiously removed from the system. This is rather
unfortunate. We are not saying we are all saints; however, I feel we are
not that bad. Of course, we are all humans who are bound to make
infractions here and there. But, honestly speaking, the way and manner
we were humiliated out of the army calls for reflection on how things
are done in this part of the world, considering our contributions to
the survival of this country in the last few years."
According
to a document obtained by the newspaper on Sunday, June 19, the
officers were compulsorily retired based on provisions of chapter 9,
section 09.02 (a) of the Conditions of Service of the Army, which states
that, “An officer may, at any time, be removed from the service, be
called upon to retire or resign his commission on disciplinary ground.”
One
of the officers however said most of them have decided to explore the
option of appeal as provided in section 09.02 (e) which states that, “An
officer called upon to retire, resign or relinquish his commission
shall, if he so desire, appeal to Mr President, the Commander-in-Chief,
through the Chief of Defence Staff within 30 days to have his case
considered.”
“I am not due for
retirement. An average officer is always loyal to the government and the
military establishment. And when any of them change, your loyalty must
change automatically. However, as far as the new authority is concerned,
every officer who worked under the previous system is disgruntled,” the officer said.
Since their compulsory retirement, most of the officers had remained quiet due to their oath of military calling.
Those who broke their silence spoke anonymously and some through their families.
“There
was nothing like fair hearing before we were sacked. I was driving when
an insider broke the shocking story to me. It was two days after that I
got my letter, which did not precisely state the actual crime I
committed,” a lieutenant-colonel said.
Another officer said he was relieved of the duties due to his closeness to some people in Dasuki's office.
“I
gathered that they checked my call log and found out that I was
communicating with someone in the office of the NSA. I never
participated in election duty or arms procurement as they alleged. I
was never invited to give my own side of the story, but I received the
retirement letter,” he said.
It was gathered that some of the sacked officers in the Niger Delta region and the volatile North-East zone.
According
to some of them, they were accused of being ‘too close’ to previous
service chiefs and worked in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) during the 2015 general elections.
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