Army freezes retirement of officers

The Nigerian Army has suspended all statutory and voluntary retirements for certain categories
of officers following the nationwide security emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu.
Over 600 cases of mass abductions were recorded in November alone. Some of the incidents
included the kidnapping of over 300 students in Niger State, 38 worshippers in Kwara State, and
25 students in Kebbi State, among others.

In response, the President on November 26 declared a nationwide security emergency and
directed the military, police, and intelligence agencies to expand recruitment and deploy
thousands of additional personnel.

An internal memo dated December 3 and signed by Maj. Gen. E. I. Okoro on behalf of the Chief
of Army Staff stated that the suspension of retirements was to retain manpower, experience,
and operational capacity as the Armed Forces expand in response to rising insecurity.

The document, referencing the Harmonized Terms and Conditions of Service Officers (HTACOS)
2024, noted that although officers are ordinarily expected to retire upon reaching their age
limit, completing 35 years in service, or after repeated promotion or conversion failures, service
extension is permissible under Paragraph 3.10(e) in the interest of the military.

The memo partly read, “Military service of a commissioned officer entails a period of unbroken
service in the AFN from the date of enlistment or commissioning to the date of retirement. The
period of service is determined by conditions enshrined in the HTACOS Officers 2024. These
include attainment of age ceilings on various ranks, 35 years maximum length of service, and
other criteria provided in Paragraphs 11.02(d) and 17.15, among extant regulations.

“Notwithstanding these provisions, Chapter 3.10(e) of HTACOS Officers 2024 allows for
extension of service to officers in the interest of the service. “The President and Commander-in-Chief declared a nationwide security emergency on November 26, mandating the expansion of the AFN and other security agencies. In line with this, and to rapidly expand manpower, it has become expedient to temporarily suspend all statutory and voluntary retirements from the Nigerian Army with immediate effect.”

According to the circular, the temporary suspension applies to officers who fall into the
following categories: officers who failed promotion examinations three times; officers passed
over three times at promotion boards; officers who have reached the age ceiling for their ranks;
officers who failed conversion boards three times; and officers who have attained 35 years of
service.

The Army noted that affected officers may apply to continue serving beyond their normal
retirement dates. “Officers in these categories who are not interested in extension of service are to continue with the normal retirement procedure. Officers desirous of extension should note that upon
extension, they are not eligible for career progression, including promotion, career courses, NA
sponsorship, self-sponsored courses, secondment, or extra-regimental appointments,” the
memo stated.

It directed all commanders to disseminate the directive and manage morale, adding that the
policy would be reviewed as the security situation improves. The Secretary-General of the Military Veterans Federation of Nigeria, Dr Awwal Abdullahi, said it was a welcome development.

He said, “I strongly support it. Even aside from insecurity, these officers are trained with
taxpayer money, but they are being retired prematurely because of appointments.
“A situation where you appoint service chiefs and those that are junior are asked to leave;
instead, you can move these officers to the defense headquarters if their junior is appointed so
that they will be reporting to the chief of defense staff directly.