Army rejigs anti-Boko Haram war, appoints new commanders

The Nigerian army has appointed new commanders for its brigades in operation Lafiya Dole theatre.

This development, the army says, is to inject new hands in the fight against insurgency.

In a statement signed on Thursday, Sani Usman, army spokesman, said the senior officers affected by the new postings include staff officers and commanders at various levels.

“New Brigade Commanders have been appointed for some of the Brigades at Operation LAFIYA DOLE. These include Brigadier General EF Oyinlola, 22 Brigade, Brigadier General VU Okoro, 25 Task Force Brigade, Brigadier General AB Mohammed, 26 Task Force Brigade, Brigadier General AO Oyelade, 27 Task Force Brigade, Brigadier General MT Usman, 28 Task Force Brigade and Brigadier General MG Kangye, 37 Brigade, while Brigadier General AS Ishaq has been appointed as Coordinator, Nigeria Police Force for Operation LAFIYA DOLE,” the statement read.

“New Commanders have also been appointed for the various Army Headquarters Logistics Commands at the theatre. These include Brigadier General AG Ibrahim, Brigadier General PN Okeson and Col OA Aminu for Logistics Base I, II and III, respectively. Similarly, the posting has affected several Commanding Officers of the various units in Operation LAFIYA DOLE, amongst others.

“Specifically, the newly promoted Major General OT Akinjobi, Head of the Operations Monitoring Team at the Office of the Chief of Army Staff, has been appointed Commander, Sector 3 Operation LAFIYA DOLE, while Major General MG Ali, Commander 9 Brigade has been appointed Commander of the newly created Nigerian Army Special Forces Command, Brigadier General BR Sinjen, Commander, Integrated Fire Support and Brigadier General FO Omoigui, has been moved from 2 Division Nigerian Army to Army Headquarters Department of Training and Operations and appointed Director of Operations.

“Brigadier General TA Lagbaja is to take over as Commander 9 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Brigadier General OR Aiyenigba, Director Land Warfare at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College is to move to the Office of the Chief of Army Staff as Head of Operations Monitoring Team, while Brigadier General AU Kuliya is to take over as Director Land Warfare at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College.”

Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, directed that all those affected by the posting should remain fully in charge until they are properly relieved in line with standard operating procedures and military professional ethics.

In November, the army had appointed Benson Akinroluyo, a major general, as theatre commander for the operation against insurgents.

Akinroluyo replaced Abba Dikko who had spent only three months as the theatre commander.

Despite the army’s intensified efforts, the insurgents, in recent times, have launched series of attacks on military formations in the operation— dislodging troops.