Army Retires 120 Generals, Brigadiers, Colonels, Others

According to our source, the first batch was given a deadline of December 24, 2022, to submit their retirement letters.

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It was also learned that the affected employees would begin their mandatory three-month pre-retirement leave in January.

According to sources, the majority of the concerned officers followed the directive in order to avoid hostile actions from the authorities.

The development has, however, generated consternation in the Army with many querying the rationale behind the mass retrenchment.

An officer accused the military authorities of disobeying a directive from the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, that the exercise should be suspended till after the 2023 elections.

The source stated, “Over 120 top officers were served letters of mandatory retirement by the Army authorities. The affected officers include major-generals, brigadier-generals, brigadiers, colonels, captains and other middle-level officers, who were unable to pass their promotion examinations after three attempts.

“But there are two rules guiding this issue: if one fails to pass his promotion exams after three attempts, he could be considered on the basis of the years he has spent on the rank.

“Though the authorities informed us that those who failed to pass their exams would be considered on the basis of age on rank, they reneged on this and instead directed us to put in our voluntary retirement letters. This is not fair.”

Despite protesting the failure of the Army high command to comply with the rules, it was learnt that the personnel were compelled to tender their notices of voluntary retirement with the option to complain or appeal later.

Another source, who confirmed the development, said the letters issued to the affected officers were signed by the Military Secretary, Army, Major General J. Abdussalam.