For Attahiru’s Rebuilding Plans to Succeed

For the plans by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Ibrahim Attahiru, to rebuild the Nigerian Army to be effective, stakeholders want him to reinstate some of the 38 senior officers whose careers were truncated in 2016 by his predecessor, Davidson Iriekpen writes

In line with his promise to rebuild the army and improve on the morale of officers and soldiers, their confidence, capacity, fighting skills and procuring fighting equipment, stakeholders in the security sector have called on the new Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, to carefully review the cases of 38 senior officers who were compulsorily retired without justification under the leadership of his predecessor, Lt-General Tukur Buratai (rtd).

The stakeholders who spoke to THISDAY on account of anonymity, said a review of the retirements of the officers in the interest of justice could be a good way to start the rebuilding plan. They said when the officers and soldiers know that they won’t be unnecessarily and unjustly marked for premature retirement or victimisation, it would boost their morale and confidence and motivate them to put in their very best to defend their fatherland. They added that this would be a huge boost to the fight against banditry and Boko Haram insurgency and the image of the army.

Nigerians can recall the army under Buratai in June 2016, compulsorily retired 38 senior officers without justification. At the point when the action was taken, Nigerians were informed by its former spokesman, Brig. Gen SK Usman (rtd), that the officers were compulsorily retired on “disciplinary grounds, serious offences”.

Even the then Minister of Defence, Brig. Gen Mansur Dan-Alli (rtd) and Buratai himself, corroborated Usman’s statement, alleging further that due process and fair hearing were granted to all the 38 officers, implying that they were found guilty by a competent legal procedure.

Specifically, Buratai the then COAS said: “It took us painstaking procedure to ensure we did not pick innocent ones. We started with one inquiry from One Division GOC to the other. After that, we subjected it to legal review. After the legal review, we forwarded our recommendations to higher authorities for consideration. So, it took us time; we have our own process also; our administrative process dovetailing into legal review and so on.”

However, it did not take long for Nigerians to know that none of the 38 officers was found guilty of any offence, and were never charged, tried or found guilty, let alone even appeared before any court martial.

Several of the officers who felt the army breached its extant rules and regulations in carrying out the retirements took their grievances to courts to clear their names. This was after they appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari for his intervention and reinstatement, but no response from the presidency or the army.

Six of the officers won their cases in court and have obtained judgments ordering their reinstatements into the Nigerian Army. The officers who got judgments against the Army are: Maj Gen Ijioma, Cols Hassan and Suleiman as well as Lt Cols Arigbe, Dazang and Mohammed. In the first half of last year alone, the army lost four of these cases. Added to these six, are another two officers who obtained National Assembly resolutions ordering their reinstatements representing some 20 per cent of the 38 officers.

Some of the officers, who are still in their 40s, are hoping that the army authorities would carefully examine their case because they still have a lot to offer the country in military service.

Curiously, Buratai refused to comply with both the court judgments and the resolutions. This has led to serious questions about the army’s desire to adhere to the rule of law and provide justice for these officers.

For instance, in delivering his judgment on February 5, 2020 in Col M. A. Sulaiman v Nigerian Army and others, Justice Sanusi Kado corroborated the officers by stating that: “The compulsory retirement of the claimant (Col MA Sulaiman), is hereby declared null and void and of no effect whatsoever, as it was not done in line with the extant rules and regulations.” This has been the pattern in the cases that have been concluded.

In fact, in a society where the rule of law is supreme and strictly adhered to, the plethora of losses the Nigerian Army has suffered would have caused a judicial review of the retirements. But this has not been the case as sources close to army authorities revealed that the former COAS and the others may have sworn “with their last blood” never to revisit the retirements while they remained at the helm of affairs of the army as that would be an admission that they lied against the 38 officers.

Many observers have since questioned Buratai for his action. Firstly, what manner of due process was followed by the supposedly highly professional Nigerian Army that made the 38 senior officers to be retired without being found guilty of an offence? When and where, were all the officers charged, tried, and found guilty? Is there any evidence of the dates and times of the Court Martial sittings? Were the officers granted fair hearing? What are the status of the appeals of these officers to Mr. President? When will the Nigerian Army comply with the rule of law and obey the court orders and judgments?

The above questions are significant because in January 2016 the army leadership under then COAS Buratai, reinstated Maj-Gen Ahmadu Mohammed after his appeal was reviewed by Mr. President.

Mohammed, it would be recalled was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 7 Division in 2014 when his troops mutinied and fired at his vehicle. The soldiers accused him of dereliction of duty and sending them to the battlefield with minimal logistic supports thereby leading to many deaths. The former GOC who is from Kano State, did not appeal his retirement within 30 days as stipulated by the conditions of service but in September 2015 after ninr months, which according to defence sources, was already a breach of the appeal process but this was ignored because the army headed by Buratai had an interest to ensure fairness and justice was served. Mohmmmed instead, waited for the outcome of the 2015 general elections as well as the removal of the previous service chiefs. As soon as President Buhari and Buratai came onboard, he was pronto, reinstated.

In Wing Commander Mshelia v. NAF & ANOR (2014) the Court of Appeal held: “The Armed Forces as a body, is supposed to be exemplary, in discipline, the world over. To violate the law and retire a member of that body in consequence is not an exhibition of discipline or exemplary conduct. To refuse to act in accordance with Section 178 of the Armed Forces Act 2004, and to continue to keep the appellant in suspense, is an abuse of office, calculated at denying the appellant the right to seek redress in a court of law, and that is why the Public Officers Protection was invoked. The law does not give reprieve in such a situation. No one will be allowed on the one hand, to act in breach of the law in a high-handed manner, and on the other hand, seek the protection of the law. The courts will not open their doors to such unlawful acts and dereliction of duty, a duty imposed by law… As earlier opined, the Public Officers Protection Act is meant to shield public officers and bodies, lawfully and conscientiously carrying out their duties, within the scope of their authority, from attack. It is not meant to be used as a sword by public officers acting without good faith and in flagrant disobedience of the law, to attack and maim others, more so when those others, are members of the same family, engaged in the service and defence of our country.”

Despite this “locus classicus” judgment of the Court of Appeal, and the series of legal losses sustained by the army, the illegal and unjust retirements of the 38 senior military officers was not reviewed under the Buratai-led army. This is why the stakeholders are urging both the Chief of Defence Staff, General LEO Irabor and Attahiru to ensure that justice is served on the retired officers. They appealed to them not emulate the former service chiefs, in order for them to make a difference in their time and comply with the court judgments in the interest of equity, fairness and justice.

“Some of the these officers are still in the their 40s and still have a lot to offer this country. These are men who were forced out of military service in their prime. They are finding it difficult to cope with premature retirement because they were not prepared to retire at the time they did. General Irabor and General Attahiru have to do something to save their career. “The first step to rebuilding the army under General Attahiru is to ensure that it is not an army of anything goes. He has to undo to many things. He has to correct so many injustices.

“Don’t forget that in 1993, the outgoing Chief of Army Staff, General Salihu Ibrahim, after reviewing the injustices in army during his time, said it was an ‘Army of anything goes.’ That was the army Buratai bequeathed. That is what we want General Attahiru to correct.”

“Injustice is injustice, if the officers were not granted fair hearing and found guilty by a competent military court as they are legally entitled as Nigerian Army officers. And these same retired officers took the pains to prove their innocence after spending several years in the lengthy judicial process to obtain valid court judgments, ordering their reinstatements. Then what is preventing the army from obeying the courts and the law,” asked a former military lawyer who wished to remain anonymous. “It all reeks of Injustice,” he further added.

Analysts believe that for a long time to come, the compulsory retirements 38 officers who were regarded as some of the brightest officers in the army will remain one of several matters lingering on his table requiring his urgent intervention from the Nigerian Army. They submit that justice demands condemnation of the wicked and guilty, while by respecting the country’s laws, the people preserve the common good and sacrifices of the innocent.