A mass retirement of senior military officers from the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force is imminent following the appointment of new Service Chiefs for the armed forces by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The president had, last Friday, appointed General Olufemi Oluyede, erstwhile Chief of Army Staff, to replace General Christopher Musa as the new Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General W. Shaibu, Chief of Army Staff; Air Vice Marshall S.K Aneke as Chief of Air Staff and Rear Admiral I. Abbas, as Chief of Naval Staff.

The Chief of Defence Intelligence retains his position.

Following the appointment of the new service chiefs who are mostly members of the 39th, 40th and 41 Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), no fewer than 90 officers would be exiting the military in the coming days, the Sunday Sun gathered at the weekend.

The affected officers include those in Regular Combatant, Direct Short Service Commission, Executive Commission, Short Service Combatant, Direct National Guard, Direct Regular Commission, among others.

This newspaper gathered that of all the services, the most hit is the Nigerian Army, where about 70 senior officers are affected by the appointment of a new Army Chief.

It was gathered that the affected officers, who already know their fate, have since vacated their offices and have been making the necessary arrangements for documentation with the Military Pensions Board (MPB), in readiness for their pensions and gratuity.

It was gathered that between Friday evening when the appointment of the new service chiefs was announced and yesterday morning, many of the affected officers had vacated their offices and moved their personal belongings out.

Also those that have their accommodation in the barracks are also said to be making arrangements to move out while some have already moved out.

The forceful retirement from service by military officers whenever a new service chief is appointed is not new. It is a tradition in the military, especially if the officer appointed as service chief is junior to a particular course.

However, some members of the course may be retained by their newly appointed course mates while others who are not lucky would be retired from service.

It is also expected that some officers that are senior to the newly appointed Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) and Chief of Air Staff (CAS) might be redeployed to the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), where Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede is now the Chief of Defence Staff.

It is expected that by Monday, the officers in this category would know their fate. (Sunday Sun, but headline rejigged)

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