At least 12 senior officers of the Nigerian Army, including Generals, have been sacked over alleged involvement in the Ekiti governorship election scandal and defence contract related offences, an official statement said Saturday.
Although the Army failed to disclose names and number of the affected officers, it was on record that more than a dozen top officers were handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for investigation over alleged defence procurement fraud.
Some others were probed for alleged misconduct during the last general elections.
The decision to sack the officers was reached following a meeting of army council on Thursday, the statement said.
“The Nigerian Army wishes to inform the general public that quite a number of senior officers of the Nigerian Army were retired from service yesterday,” said Army Director of Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman.
“Those retired were mainly some Major Generals, Brigadier Generals, Colonels, Lieutenant Colonels and a Major.
“Their retirement was based on Service exigencies. It should be recalled that not too long ago some officers were investigated for being partisan during the 2015 General Elections.
“Similarly, the investigation by the Presidential Committee investigating Defence Contracts revealed a lot.
“Some officers have already been arraigned in court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). People should therefore not read this out of context.
“The military must remain apolitical and professional at all times.
“We must applaud and support this laudable and bold initiative by the government”.
The Army had last year sent 12 Army officers to the EFCC for investigation.
Mr. Usman had in a statement issued last year said the indicted officers comprised three serving Major-Generals, one retired Major-General, three Brigadier-Generals, four Colonels and a Lieutenant Colonel.
