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Army Retirement: Ex-service chiefs to get four bulletproof SUVs, 20 domestic aides, 36 soldiers

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The Chief of Defence Staff and service chiefs, who were retired by President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, June 19, 2023, are to get bulletproof Sport Utility Vehicles, personal aides, guards and other perks of office, including generous allowance for medical treatment abroad, as retirement benefits.

The affected senior military officers are the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao.

The Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers of the Armed Forces of Nigeria 2017 (revised), obtained by newsmen and marked as “Restricted”, listed the benefits of the retired Generals upon leaving the respective services.

Section 11.8 of the HTACOS 2017, a revised version of the HTACOS 2012, listed the benefits of a retiring CDS and service chiefs to include one bulletproof SUV or equivalent vehicle to be maintained by the service and to be replaced every four years; Peugeot 508 or equivalent backup vehicle; and five domestic aides made up of two service cooks, two stewards and a civilian gardener.

Each of them is also entitled to an Aide-de-Camp/security officer; special assistant of a lieutenant/captain or equivalent, or personal assistant of the rank of warrant officer or equivalent; and nine standard guards of nine soldiers.

The immediate past CDS and service chiefs are also entitled to three service drivers; one service orderly; escorts to be provided by the appropriate military units/formations as the need arises; and free medical cover in Nigeria and abroad.

Section 11.19 of the HTACOS 2017 also listed the retirement benefits of a Lieutenant General for the Nigerian Army, Vice Admiral for the Navy and Air Marshal for the Air Force to include two Peugeot 508 cars, or one Toyota Land Cruiser, two cooks, two stewards, four residential guards, one service orderly, two service drivers, free medical treatment in the country and abroad to the tune of $20,000 yearly.

Meanwhile, many Major Generals and equivalence in the Navy and Air Force are expected to apply for voluntary retirement latest by Monday following the appointment of a new CDS and service chiefs by the President.

In the HTACOS, however, the retirement benefits for a Major General in the Army, Rear Admiral in the Navy and Air Vice Marshal in Air Force, who are two-star officers, include one Peugeot 508, a cook, a steward, two residential guards, one service orderly, one service driver, free medicals in Nigeria and abroad to the tune of $15,000 per year.

Their one-star officers who are Brigadier Generals, Commodore and Air Commodore upon retirement are entitled to one Peugeot 408, a service driver, two residential guards, one service orderly and free medicals locally and abroad to the tune of $10,000 each.

For Colonels, Captains and Group Captains in the Army, Navy and Air Force, respectively, each of them is expected to go with a Peugeot 301 or another car of the same value and free medical cover in the country.

The harmonised conditions of service, however, provided that for Major Generals, Brigadier Generals, Colonels and their equivalents in the Navy and the Air Force, all the benefits could be monetised for the retiring officers.

In comparison, the 2012 version of the HTACOS made provisions for one security car to be maintained by the respective service and replaced every four years; retention of all military uniforms and accoutrements to be worn for appropriate ceremonies, as well as personal firearms, which shall be retrieved by the relevant services upon the death of the beneficiaries; three domestic civilian aides (cook, gardener and steward), or cash in lieu; Aide-de-Camp/security officer; six standard guards; one service driver; and one service orderly for retiring Generals, CDS and service chiefs in Section 09.17.

They are also to retain all military uniforms and accoutrements to be worn for appropriate ceremonies, as well as personal firearms. However, such firearms shall be retrieved by the relevant services upon the death of the beneficiaries.

It was gathered that the HTACOS was reviewed in 2022 in accordance with the five-year review period, but it was not signed due to rumblings that the senior generals were taking good care of themselves at the expense of the rank and file.

It was learnt that to become operative, the HTACOS would be signed by the CDS with the permission of the President as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

The current HTACOS in use specifies that the CDS and service chiefs must be four-star Generals and can hold the positions for a continuous period of two years and that the Commander-in-Chief can extend such appointments for another period of two years from the date of the expiration of the initial two-year period.

However, Section 11.09 leaves the tenure of the CDS and service chiefs open and at the discretion of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, stating, “The foregoing notwithstanding, the President, C-in-C reserves the prerogative to extend the tenure of a CDS/service chief irrespective of his age or length of service.”

Former President Muhammadu Buhari relied on this provision to retain the services of Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, who were appointed in 2015 but were not replaced until January 2021 even though there were calls for them to be sacked based on the rising insecurity in the country.

 ‘Too many generals’

A former spokesman for the Nigerian Air Force, Group Captain Sadeeq Shehu (retd.), said the country had too many generals, which he noted had led to difficulties in appointing service chiefs in the military.

Shehu stated this on Friday in an interview with Arise TV, which was monitored by one of our correspondents.

“We need to listen to our elders. General Ishola Williams, as far back as 2020, gave us this warning that we are having too many Generals and too little field troops. In the long run, it is the country that loses.”

 Experts weigh in

Shehu added that ex-military Generals worked for their pay and that service chiefs who are made to retire suddenly, often leave the military unprepared.

 He stated, “The issue is that when you continue doing this, people who leave, not really unprepared but you know what the military promises them, they are not going to attain it. So it is not a win-win situation for everybody. You lose vibrant young men, they leave unprepared and then you have a bloated military structure. And what does a bloated military do? It costs a lot of money.

“Let us be frank, there is no money you can pay somebody for his life. Whatever you pay a General after serving 35 or 30 years, he is worth it because they are in the bush and stay awake while others sleep.”

A security expert, Kabiru Adamu, said the appointment of service chiefs was political as well as professional, adding that they should benefit from what their counterparts in other parts of the world were enjoying.

He said, “There are a lot of things that are wrong with our security structure at the moment. For example, the position and role of our service chiefs is somewhere in between political and professional, and this has put them in a very difficult situation that sometimes they have to dance to the dictum of politicians.

“As an example, when they are appointed, their tenure is not clearly stated. If they are professionals, their appointments should be based on certain professional codes. Why I am saying this is to indicate that because their role is not entirely professional; it also has a political undertone; they’re entitled to benefit from the largesse of any political administration.

“By that, I mean any benefits that political appointees will get, they should get. Is this the best way to run a government, especially where the cost of governance is one of the factors affecting our economy? No. It is not, but I don’t want us to isolate them. It is something that is general with civilian administrations and sadly over time, the problem has deepened. “

Brigadier General, Bashir Adewinibi (retd.), said, “I don’t know what the service chiefs are entitled to but we have terms and conditions in the armed forces and I believe that whatever they will be entitled to would have been stated there and it will be implemented to the letter. It is their entitlement and nothing can be done to it except it is not in the harmonised conditions of service. “

On his part, Colonel Saka Foluso (retd.), said, “I don’t think there is anything too much for Generals who have put their lives on the line for over 35 years. Political appointees, who have not done what the Generals have done, get more than that for say the eight years they have served. There is nothing given to them (military officers) that is too much.

“What they will be given has been stated already, which includes driver, car and what have you; they are not too much. They have made sacrifices for these. Do you know how many joined the service with them who are no more?  If you are complaining about the economy, let us block the leakages elsewhere. Curbing oil theft is one of the ways we can generate more money.”

A former military governor of the defunct Western Region, Maj. Gen. David Jemibewon (retd.), said the retirement benefits earmarked for the outgoing service chiefs and other military officers were well deserved.

He stated that it showed that the country was now paying better attention to the welfare of the “persons who have served it meritoriously and retired.”

Jemibewon said, “I don’t think there is anything wrong with the retirement packages for these men, who have served the country meritoriously and retired.

“This is evidence that the country is making positive progress towards the stabilisation of professions and recognition of efficient performance in one’s position.

“It will also, perhaps, promote higher and satisfactory performance among the serving chiefs in that they know that they will be highly rewarded for good service to the nation.

“It was not like that when I retired. This is why I said it was an improvement. The country is making a lot of progress. It was not as detailed as it is now. It is a welcome development.”

However, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Armourcop G. Security Systems Limited, Mr Timothy Avele, said he did not see how the purchase of bulletproof vehicles for the retired service chiefs would look to the common man who can barely feed at this time.

In a message to one of our correspondents, Avele said, “I don’t see the benefits of purchasing bulletproof vehicles for the retired Generals, especially now that even the common man cannot feed. I think the government just wants to appease them, otherwise, it is a drain on the economy.”

 ‘Don’t play politics with military’

Meanwhile, the immediate past CDS, General Lucky Irabor, has warned against playing politics with the military.

According to him, the military enjoys unity and bond not found in any other sector.

Irabor spoke at a reception organised by the Defence Headquarters after his pulling-out parade in Abuja on Friday.

“The friendship and unity that exists within the armed forces you cannot find it anywhere else and that is why you shouldn’t play politics with the military because from the 774 LGAs of this country, everyone is represented. There is no commander that goes to war with those he claims are his kinsmen,” he stated.

He said contrary to general belief, no military personnel takes any special injection to be tough but for the training and indoctrination, which come from the regimentation.

He said “The military is a family for those who may not know. It is a family. I have answered so many questions about being given an injection. What is that injection? There is no injection. The injection is training and discipline. They also said we operate like a cult; the process alone there is nothing wrong if I say we are in a cult, but it is a good cult.

“In the training establishment when I was a cadet, we spent three years, but two years later it became a five-year programme; when it was three years, the admission was every six months and when it became one year, the admission became every year.

“For you to finish a three-year program means that you will have five sets of your seniors and five sets of your juniors. The bonding that comes with it, you can’t find in any other place and that is why you think it is a cult.

“The values and traditions are transmitted from one generation to the other. When you get to the field, you see yourselves as brothers. I want to use this opportunity to appeal to our friends and the citizens, the investment in members of the armed forces is such that other sectors need to take a cue from.”

Irabor also urged his successor, Major General Christopher Musa, to follow up on some of the promises the President made for the military, adding that if they were fulfilled, it would be to the benefit of the country as well as the services.

At his pulling-out parade earlier on Friday, Irabor said he was leaving the military more capable to tackle adversaries than he met it.

He admitted that the task was not easy under his watch due to the large and diverse nature of the country.

He said, “National security for a large and diverse country like Nigeria is not an easy task, but it is also not an impossible one. In 2021, the security situation of the nation was admittedly in a state of dynamic plus. Efforts made by the Federal Government of Nigeria using the AFN in collaboration with the NPF, other security agencies and critical stakeholders were in different stages of gestation; we were encouraged to pursue these measures in addition to other initiatives to reinvigorate the national security architecture to deliver critical national security functions.

“I make bold to say that I’m leaving the armed forces of Nigeria today, bigger, stronger, and more capable to deliver on its constitutional mandate and national security functions.”

He said the military under his watch significantly curbed the threat of terrorism and piracy among others.

Irabor said, “In more specific terms, we significantly curtailed the threats of terrorism, insurgency, piracy, sea robberies, vandalism of critical national assets and kidnappings, and the military aid to civil authority role.

“We successfully work in conjunction with other security agencies and stakeholders to deliver a physical security environment that is amenable for law and order, critical democratic processes as well as human security and national development.”

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IBADAN: Early Morning Fire Destroys Shops, Millions Lost in Property

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An early morning fire on Friday, September 12, 2025, gutted four shops at Saki Garage, opposite Trans Amusement Park in the Bodija area of Ibadan, Oyo State.

The fire, which started around 2:07 a.m., affected four out of eleven shops in the complex. No casualties were reported, but properties worth millions of naira were lost.

Chairman of the Oyo State Fire Service, Hon. Maroof Akinwande, confirmed the incident and said firefighters were able to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to nearby buildings.

The fire was traced to embers left unattended after business hours, which ignited nearby flammable materials.

Akinwande advised the public to be vigilant, keep fire extinguishers at home and in shops, and store emergency fire service numbers. He also commended Amotekun officers from the Bodija Division for providing security during the firefighting operation.

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Air Peace Differs with NSIB reports on crews involvement in drugs, alcohol

Air Peace conducts frequent alcohol and drug tests on our crew. We have a very strict alcohol use policy that is stricter than the 8 hours before the flight as provided in the regulations. Drug use is a NO-NO!

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Air Peace has responded to the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) regarding the incident involving one of its aircraft at Port Harcourt on July 13, 2025.

The airline said to date, no official communication was received on crew toxicology results by NSI, B, and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had cleared the co-pilot on duty.

In a statement by Air Peace, it stated that it is yet to receive any official communications from the NSIB on such findings over a month after the incident and after the testing of the crew for alcohol, which took place in less than an hour of the incident!

“As a responsible airline, we place utmost priority on safety, transparency, and compliance, and it is important to set the record straight.

“Air Peace conducts frequent alcohol and drug tests on our crew. We have a very strict alcohol use policy that is stricter than the 8 hours before the flight as provided in the regulations. Drug use is a NO-NO!

The NSIB had on Thursday released the preliminary report on its ongoing investigation into the serious incident involving a Boeing 737-524 aircraft, operated by Air Peace, saying initial toxicological tests conducted on the flight crew revealed positive results for certain substances, including indicators of alcohol consumption.

The report said that a cabin crew member also tested positive for Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component in cannabis.

“These results are being reviewed under the human performance and safety management components of the investigation.”, a statement on the report signed by Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji, Director, Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, said.

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Hilda Baci Cooking World’s Largest Pot of Jollof Rice Today at Eko Hotel

Baci also disclosed she would be using 250 bags of rice to create what she hopes will become the world’s biggest pot of Nigerian jollof rice.

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Celebrity chef and Guinness World Record holder Hilda Baci is cooking what she describes as the world’s largest pot of Nigerian jollof rice at Eko Hotel and Suites today (Friday) in Lagos.

A video shared on her Instagram page on Thursday showed the moment the massive pot arrived at the venue of the record-breaking attempt in Lagos.

Another clip shared on her Snapchat story captured Hilda and her mother praying at the venue ahead of the event.

Baci announced on Wednesday that more than 20,000 people had registered to attend the event dubbed “Gino World Jollof Festival with Hilda Baci”

She emphasised that the event which kicks off at 9 a.m. on Friday, September 12, is free to attend, and that guests will “certainly not be paying for the amazing meal that I’m going to make for you.”

According to Baci, the historic attempt will feature a giant pot measuring six metres wide and six metres tall, in collaboration with seasoning and culinary brand Gino.

Baci also disclosed she would be using 250 bags of rice to create what she hopes will become the world’s biggest pot of Nigerian jollof rice

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