COUP FALLOUT

…New Army Chief Shakes Up Command Structure, Takes Swift Control
…Lawyer Sues Military for Attempting to Seize Power
…NDDC Goes on War Path over Media Reports
…Presidency: We Stick to “No Coup” Narrative

By Peter Salami

A sweeping command shake-up ordered by the new Chief of Army Staff, Major General Waidi Shaibu, dominated the fallout from this week’s tense allegations of an attempted coup, even as legal, institutional, and political fronts heated up across the country.

In a move the Army described as necessary to reinvigorate leadership and shore up operational effectiveness, Major General Shaibu on Thursday approved a comprehensive posting and appointment of senior officers to key command, staff, and instructional positions across formations, units, and training institutions. The changes, spanning policy, operations, training, logistics, finance, and civil-military relations, signal an assertive effort by the Service to reassert discipline and consolidate control.

Announcing the exercise in Abuja, Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Lt.-Col. Appolonia Anele, said the redeployments were aimed at strengthening command structures and enhancing the Army’s overall readiness. The full list of appointments released by Army Headquarters is as follows:

• Maj.-Gen. Bamidele Alabi — Chief of Policy and Plans (Army), Army Headquarters Department of Policy and Plans.
• Maj.-Gen. Jamal Abdulsalam — to Defence Headquarters as Chief of Defence Operations (from Chief of Special Services and Programmes).
• Maj.-Gen. Peter Mala — Commander, Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) (from Office of the National Security Adviser).
• Maj.-Gen. Samson Jiya — Chief of Defence Accounts and Budget, Defence Headquarters (from Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre).
• Maj.-Gen. Mayirenso Saraso — Chief of Operations (Army).
• Maj.-Gen. Isa Abdullahi — Chief of Administration (Army).
• Maj.-Gen. Musa Etsu-Ndagi — Chief of Civil-Military Affairs.
• Maj.-Gen. Abubakar Haruna — Commander, Nigerian Army Training Centre (NATRAC), Kontagora.
• Maj.-Gen. Philip Ilodibia — Chief of Defence Space Administration.
• Maj.-Gen. Godwin Mutkut — Corps Commander, Infantry.
• Maj.-Gen. Umar Abubakar — Commander, Armour Corps.
• Maj.-Gen. John Adeyemo — Corps Commander, Artillery.
• Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Abdullahi — Corps Commander, Signals.
• Maj.-Gen. Taofik Sidick — Chief of Accounts and Budget (Army), Nigerian Army Finance Corps.
• Maj.-Gen. Abdullahi Ibrahim — Corps Commander, Ordnance.
• Maj.-Gen. Adeyinka Adereti — Corps Commander, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
• Maj.-Gen. Nansak Shagaya — Corps Commander, Supply and Transport.
• Brig.-Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed — Acting Corps Commander, Education.

At the training and educational institutions, the appointments include:
• Maj.-Gen. Oluyemi Olatoye — Commandant, Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna.
• Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Mustapha — Commandant, Nigerian Army Signal School.
• Maj.-Gen. Adamu Hassan — Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Artillery.
• Brig.-Gen. John Bulus — Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Finance and Accounts.

Operational and theatre appointments announced were also wide-ranging:
• Maj.-Gen. Saidu Audu — Force Commander, Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), N’Djamena.
• Maj.-Gen. Warrah Idris — Commander, Joint Task Force North West, Operation FANSAN YAMMA.
• Maj.-Gen. Oluremi Fadairo — General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division and Commander, Joint Task Force South East, Operation UDO KA.

Key appointments in defence communications and information included:
• Maj.-Gen. Olatokumbo Bello — Director, Defence Media Operations.
• Brig.-Gen. Samaila Uba — Director, Defence Information.

The COAS charged the newly posted officers to bring strategic foresight, administrative acumen, and operational experience to bear in advancing a disciplined, combat-ready force. “Sustain operational momentum, strengthen inter-agency collaboration, and uphold the Army’s core values of loyalty, selfless service, integrity, and excellence,” he told the appointees, while reminding them that security is costly and must be matched by efficient resource management.

The personnel reshuffle came as Hon. Kanmi Ajibola, a member of the Osun State House of Assembly and lawyer, filed suit at the Federal High Court in Osogbo seeking to restrain the Nigerian Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Attorney-General of the Federation from ever seizing power by unconstitutional means. In a 23-paragraph affidavit attached to his originating summons filed on October 30, Ajibola argued there is no legal provision in the Constitution or the Armed Forces Act that empowers the military to take over civil rule and urged the court to permanently bar any attempt at a coup d’état.

At the same time, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has gone on the offensive over media stories alleging its Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, was implicated in the alleged plot. In a stern legal notice signed by Chief Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), the Commission demanded immediate retractions and public apologies from The Punch and Daily Times, threatening civil and criminal action under the Cybercrimes Act should the outlets fail to comply within seven days. The NDDC insisted Dr. Ogbuku was neither arrested nor questioned by any authority and urged the public to rely only on verified communications from the Commission.

The Presidency, for its part, stood firmly with the military’s public position that there was no successful coup. Presidential Adviser on Media and Public Communication Sunday Dare told TVC the government would “stick to the narrative of the military” until the Armed Forces presented a different account, reaffirming confidence in the Army’s constitutional role to safeguard Nigeria’s unity and territorial integrity.

According to security insiders and political observers, the Tinubu administration appears to be moving quickly to steady the ship: tightening control in the Army through an exhaustive reshuffle, and seeking to manage the reputational damage caused by sensational reporting. Whether these measures will definitively close the chapter on the controversy, they say, remains uncertain as investigations proceed.