Army compulsorily retires Major-General

By Kingsley Omonobi

ABUJA— A colonel of the Nigerian Army  serving in  ‘Operation Zaman Lafia’ which is the military operation to flush out Boko Haram insurgents in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states was feared killed in a daring attack by the terrorists in Michika, just as the Army High  Command ordered the immediate and compulsory retirement of a Major-General for professional misconduct.

The General, according to Vanguard investigation, is from the South-Eastern part of the country and served as a General Officer Commanding 81 division of the Army in Lagos.

The offences for which the General was ordered retired were said to have been committed while he served as the commander of one of the brigades in the South-South part of the country.

Several petitions were said to have been written against him to the Army High Command early this year, prompting  the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah to institute a board of inquiry that was headed by another  General.

After completion of its assignment, interrogating the senior officer, interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence, Vanguard was told that the Army High Command had no choice than recommend the officer for compulsory retirement.

When the Army Council headed by President Goodluck Jonathan sat over the recommendation of the Army High Command, Vanguard was told the council had no difficulty approving the compulsory retirement.

When Vanguard sought to know if the General was in a position to appeal the order, it was gathered the officer was lucky to escape outright dismissal or demotion in rank following the outcome of the investigation.

Meanwhile,  sources have told Vanguard that a Colonel of the Nigerian Army serving in  ‘Operation Zaman Lafia’ which is the military operation to flush out Boko Haram insurgents in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states was feared killed in a daring attack by the terrorists in Michika.

The colonel, (names with-held) who hailed from one of the states in the North-West, was said to have been killed during the onslaught by the terrorists on the town.