There are reports that the Nigerian Army may have
redeployed some high-ranking officers on the frontline of the war against
insurgency.
This is coming at a time when the military has
succeeded in restoring normalcy to most parts of the troubled north-east.
A military source said the development took affected
officers by surprise.
Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, theatre commander, Operation
Lafiya Dole, and Victor Ezuwgu, acting general officer commanding (GOC), 7
division, have been transferred out of Borno state.
It was learnt that Ibrahim Attahiru, a major general
at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, would take over from Irabor,
while Ezugwu would be replaced by I.M Yusuf, a brigadier general.
Barring last minute change of plans, Irabor and Ezugwu
would hand over to their successors on June 1 and June 10 respectively.
Irabor will be going to the multi-national joint task
force (MNJTF), where he will take over from Lamidi Adeosun, a major general,
and Ezugwu will be deployed to a military formation in Zaria, Kaduna, as a GOC.
It is understood that Adeosun will resume at the Defence
Headquarters, in Abuja.
The reorganisation has created mixed feelings among
officers in Borno State.
Some believe that the redeployment is long overdue,
others are of the view that they should have been left to end the war they made
a significant contribution to reducing.
A senior military officer opposed to the development
said the army has never had commanders who had recorded tremendous successes in
the war against insurgency like the outgoing theatre commander and his GOC.
“The theatre commander and the GOC were the only
commanders who went to the war front to engage Boko Haram terrorists,” he told
this newspaper.
“The GOC was always with troops on the war front and
that was why we called him ‘the game changer’.
“These two powerful men have restructured the army and
so far boost the morale of troops.”
Another commander, who also spoke off the record, said
he felt “very bad” over the issue.
“Of course, we know that they won’t be here forever,
that is the nature of this job. But I feel bad that these great men are leaving
the theatre at this point,” he said.
“We will be meeting on the 25 this month; that is
where the theatre commander will officially announce his replacement. This is
really sad.
Irabor was appointed as the theatre commander on March
17, 2016. (TheCable)
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