•Military top brass await N’Assembly’s confirmation
•Hold new appointees accountable, NEF urges president
•PDP asks ICC to probe outgoing officers for crime against humanity
•Makinde, Akeredolu, Ooni visit Presidential Villa over insecurity
By Davidson Iriekpen in Lagos, Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday met with the new service chiefs, urging them to concentrate their efforts on helping his administration to deliver on its electoral pledge to make Nigeria a safer place for citizens to live.
A statement by the president’s media adviser, Mr. Femi Adesina, quoted Buhari as congratulating the new appointees, and telling them that their job is well cut out for them given the insecurity wracking the nation.
The president’s maiden meeting with the new service chiefs, however, coincided with rising criticism of the presidential appointment without a request for confirmation by the National Assembly as required by law.
But the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has urged Buhari to hold the new service chiefs accountable for the success or failure of the war against insecurity even as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the tenure of the immediate past service chiefs for alleged atrocities and crimes against humanity committed by security operatives under their command.
The president said: “We are in a state of emergency. Be patriotic, serve the country well, as your loyalty is to the country.
“There’s nothing I can tell you about the service because you are in it.
“I was also in it and I will pray for you. I also assure you that whatever I can do as Commander-in-Chief will be done, so that the people will appreciate your efforts.
“You know the stage we were in 2015, you know the stage we are now, and the undertakings we made. We promised to secure the country, revive the economy, and fight corruption. None has been easy, but we have certainly made progress.”
Buhari also charged the service chiefs to be concerned about the morale of their officers and men, saying they should be made to feel physically and professionally secure. He pledged that the federal government will do its best in providing equipment and logistics to make them win the war against insecurity.
The service chiefs, who were led to the meeting by the Minister of Defence, Major-General Bashir Magashi (rtd), are: Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Lucky Irabor;
Chief of Army Staff, Major-General I. Attahiru; Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral A. Gambo and Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal I. O. Amao.
Irabor told reporters after the closed-door meeting that the president challenged them to be alive to their responsibilities.
He said: “The message from the president is that knowing the current security environment, we must do everything possible to add value to the security disposition and the expectations are high and that we are quite mindful of the expectations. So, we collectively, will work to achieve that.”
According to him, the new service chiefs will work to ensure security of lives and property.
He said: “We have just seen Mr. President and we are mindful of the demands. We can only at this stage pledge our utmost best to bring safety and security to lives and property across the country.”
The CDS assured Nigerians that they will add value to their lives by battling insecurity.
“On behalf of the service chiefs, I am assuring the nation of peace and security. We believe there will be value that will be added to the security disposition of the nation.”
As the service chiefs were meeting with Buhari, videos of soldiers and naval ratings celebrating the exit of the former service chiefs went viral on the social media.
Though the videos could not be verified, it showed soldiers and naval ratings jubilating and shooting into the air.
Hold new appointees accountable, NEF tells president Northern elders yesterday urged Nigerians to moderate their expectations on the the performance of the new service chiefs, saying that they should not to be misled into thinking that the insecurity ravaging the country will dramatically end with the change of guard.
They stated that the service chiefs can only be successful if they are inspired by Buhari.
The NEF also urged the president to hold the service chiefs and senior commanders accountable for successes and failures.
NEF Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, in a statement yesterday, noted that with the current circumstances where the nation is being swamped by old and new security challenges, a change of leadership in the armed forces should signal that the president accepts the need for major changes in his disposition to tackling the problem.
It stated that Nigerians would hope that these changes, even though belated, are intended as a response to the persistent demands for changes at leadership level as part of the requirements to improve professionalism, morale and integrity of command structures of the armed forces.
It said: “The new service chiefs will be a lot more effective if they are inspired by a Commander-In-Chief who adopts an involved and active interest in their conduct, records and performances.
“President Buhari must therefore reduce his distance from defence and security matters, and hold service chiefs and senior commanders accountable for successes and failures.
“The new service chiefs have been part of the military that has been severely challenged in the fight against a decade-old insurgency and many other threats.”
According to the forum, the only way the service chiefs can retain the confidence of Nigerians is to improve on the records of their predecessors.
It called on the new service chiefs to focus on improving professional standards and morale of troops as well as fighting corruption within the armed forces.
It added that it is important for the service chiefs to lead a military with high standards of respect for rules of engagement.
Concerns over Non-screening of Service Chiefs
The appointment of the service chiefs without first sending their names to the Senate for confirmation is causing ripples in some quarters, THISDAY learnt yesterday.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Basiru, told THISDAY that the Senate has the statutory right to confirm the appointment of the new service chiefs.
“I know there are provisions in the Armed Forces Act prescribing confirmation of appointment of service chiefs- see section 18(1) of the Armed Forces Act of 1993,” he said.
He, however, added that he was not sure if the names of the new service chiefs had been forwarded to the Senate for confirmation.
“I don’t know yet if the list of the service chiefs has been sent to the Senate for confirmation. Such correspondence, if any, will be read at the plenary,” he stated.
However, analysts said under the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, and the provisions of the Armed Forces Act, the president, acting alone, cannot appoint new service chiefs without the prior confirmation, by the National Assembly of his nominees.
They wondered why the presidency did not indicate in its press statement announcing the appointment of the service chiefs if they were appointed in acting capacity or substantive.
They wondered why the president did not followed the process it took in 2015 when he sent the names of the outgone service chiefs to the Senate for confirmation.
Those who spoke to THISDAY expressed concern about what they perceived as attempts to circumvent the process.
Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), urged the service chiefs not to consider themselves appointed until they have been confirmed by the Senate.
He called on Buhari to forward their names to the National Assembly for confirmation of their appointments, based on the judgment of the Federal High Court.
“On Tuesday, President Buhari was reported to have appointed new service chiefs for the armed forces. Upon a critical review of the law on the subject matter the members of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) have found that the appointments remain inchoate as Buhari has not forwarded the names of the proposed service chiefs to the National Assembly for approval in strict compliance with the relevant provisions of the constitution and the Armed Forces Act,” he said in a statement.
Falana stated that the appointment of the service chiefs without the concurrence of the National Assembly is incomplete.
A Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, had on July 1, 2013 ruled that any appointment of service chiefs by the president without approval of the National Assembly was unconstitutional and illegal.
Justice Adamu Bello declared the appointments of the service chiefs without National Assembly’s approval as null and void because they did not conform to Section 18 (1) and (2) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap. A20, Laws of the Federation.
The case, instituted by Lagos lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, now Minister of State for Labour and Employment, had challenged the practice of appointing military chiefs by the president without seeking the approval of the National Assembly.
Based on the judgment, which has not been appealed till date, former President Goodluck Jonathan sought and got the approval of the National Assembly in January 2014 when he appointed Alex Badeh as Chief of Defence Staff, Kenneth Minimah as Chief of Army Staff, Usman Jibrin as Chief of Naval Staff and Adesola Amosu as Chief of Air Staff.
The procedure was also followed in 2015 by Buhari when he appointed the then Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin as Chief of Defence Staff; Major General T.Y. Buratai as Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas as Chief of Naval Staff and Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar as Chief of Air Staff.
“Currently, we do not know the status of the service chiefs. Are they in acting capacity or substantive? Why did the statement announcing their appointments not mention it emphatically that they are in acting capacity?
“The presidency has to clear the air on this quickly before we begin to accuse them of breaking the law again,” one of the analysts told THISDAY.
PDP Urges ICC to Probe Outgoing Service Chiefs Over Crime Against Humanity
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday called the International Criminal Court (ICC) to probe the tenure of the outgoing service chiefs over reported atrocities and crimes against humanity allegedly committed by security operatives under their command.
The PDP also called on the INTERPOL and other world bodies to commence processes that will lead to the prosecution and sanctioning, including travel ban and freezing of assets belonging to all those involved in killings and human right abuses by security operatives under the Buhari administration.
The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said with the exit of the accused service chiefs from office, the ICC’s Chief Prosecutor, Ms. Fatou Bensouda, should issue official warrant in line with the court’s earlier declaration that it has enough evidence to open a full probe on alleged crimes against humanity under the outgoing commanders.
The PDP urged the ICC to also probe cases of alleged extra-judicial execution of innocent Nigerians, massacre of peaceful protesters, illegal arrests and arbitrary detention of citizens, torture and rape allegedly committed by the military under the outgoing commanders, as detailed in the reports of international bodies, including the United States Department of State, Amnesty International (AI) and Transparency International (TI).
The PDP said: “The exiting service chiefs must be made to provide answers for the reported massacre of unarmed protesters by the military in the North-west and South-east states between 2015 and 2018, including the 348 civilians reportedly killed by soldiers in Kaduna State as well as the 347 bodies found in mass graves in the aftermath of the Zaria massacre.”
It also sought a probe into reports of military invasion and mass shooting in communities in Borno, Yobe, Rivers, Abia, Anambra among other states .
While the PDP expressed confidence in the military, it said the investigation of the allegations against the military will serve as a deterrent to others.
Makinde, Akeredolu, Ooni Meet Buhari on Insecurity
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday met separately with the Oyo State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde; his Ondo State counterpart, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, on how to improve security in the South-west.
While Akeredolu did not speak to journalists after his meeting with Buhari, Makinde said he came to brief the president on the security situation in Oyo State.
The meetings held against the backdrop of the tension generated by ultimata given renegade herdsmen to quit Oyo and Ondo States.
Makinde said: “I also used the occasion to ask for more mobile police squadrons as against the only two operating in a state that is bigger than the entire South-east zone.
“There has been a lot of fake news all around and I wanted to be sure that Mr. President clearly has first-hand information from me, which I did. We also exchanged ideas on what we need to do better, some of the programmes we have put in place to ensure that this security issue is tackled. So, that’s basically why I came here.”
On the specific issues he discussed with the president, the governor said: “Well, one of the issues I discussed with Mr. President is that Oyo State land mass is quite big, Oyo State is close to 29,000 square kilometres. If you take all the states in the South-east geopolitical zone of Nigeria, they are still not as big as Oyo State. And the state right now only has two mobile police squadrons.
“So, I requested for more mobile police squadrons to be deployed in Oyo State and also ask for support for the joint security outfit because the underlying issue here also has to do with limited opportunities.
“The tension will definitely go down if a lot of our youths are gainfully employed. So, I briefed the president on what we are doing in that regard.”
When asked about his disagreement with activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, on the ultimatum for Fulani to leave Oyo State, the governor said: “Well, we have a history of living together peacefully amongst all the ethnic groups that are present in Oyo State.
“For instance, what triggered all of this was that Dr. Aborede was brutally murdered; that is criminal, but on the other hand, Seriki, Alhaji Kabir has been staying in that same place for 40 years.”
The Ooni, after the meeting with Buhari, also called on the two main political parties, All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), not to politicise the issues of security.
On why he came to see Buhari, Oba Adeyeye said: “Well to the glory of God, I am here particularly because of all the issues of security threat here and there and to get the blessing of Mr. President. Hopefully, it won’t turn out to be very political because political parties might probably want to hijack it and to the glory of God as the Co-chairman of National Council of Traditional Rulers, it is our responsibility and our duty to make sure that everything is right, all and sundry is in good shape.”
He hailed the president for giving the assurance that the security situation will not be politicised.
“The president has assured us that it is not going to be a political thing because we all know the problem all over the country, we have a lot of bad eggs that mix across the entire country and we having that issue again in the South-west,” he stated.
He added that he was happy that Buhari told him to assure other traditional rulers that the government must work with them now.
“It is very important for us to work very closely with the government so that we can separate the good, the bad and the ugly. It is very important for us to separate the wheat from the chaff because a lot of them are actually using the porous border that we have but to the glory of God they are doing what is called e-border now in Nigeria and it is very efficient and we all need to work with them.
“So, the objective is politics shouldn’t be mixed with the safety and the security concerns of our people. Politics should be completely taken out of it and to the glory of God, Mr. President said he is fully on board with us as traditional rulers,” he said.
The Ooni welcomed the appointment of new service chiefs, saying with new hands on board, fresh ideas will be generated in combating insecurity.
On the reported tension in South-west over conflict between herders and their host communities, the monarch said it was time to separate the good eggs from the bad eggs without politics.
“The best way forward that is critical is to separate the bad eggs from the good eggs and take politics out of it. We don’t want any politics to be mingled with it. We, the traditional rulers, we know the good, the bad and the ugly in our domains. So, it is a very clear strategy. Those bad eggs we want to fish them out. Politics is different from taking out the bad eggs from the good eggs and it is the blessing of Mr. President we have come for.
So, any time we are sensing politics, we the traditional rulers we have to cry out, so that is the object why I am here,” he said.
