Major General Ibrahim Attahiru has officially resumed as the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS), thereby shunning the confirmation of his appointment by the National Assembly.
Attahiru, who was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, succeeds Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai.
Naija News recalls President Buhari on Tuesday, 26th January 2021 appointed new service chiefs for the nation after the previous ones were relieved of their duties.
The President appointed Maj Gen LEO Irabor as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Maj Gen I Attahiru as Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Rear Admiral A Z Gambo as Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), and AVM I O Amao as Chief of Air Staff (CAS).
During the handing over ceremony at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, Buratai urged Attahiru to continue to work for the country and remain patriotic.
He also asked the new COAS to continue to boost the morale of Nigerian troops and cater for their welfare in order to defeat the war against insurgency.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Boko Haram Terrorist group, Abubakar Shekau, has reacted to the appointment of new service chiefs by President Buhari.
The Boko Haram factional leader in a nine minutes, 56 seconds-long clip mocked the newly appointed military chiefs, telling them they can’t perform better than their predecessors.
He called on those of them that are not Muslims to convert to Islam and warned those who are already Muslims not to think they will be able to do anything against him because their own version of Islam is ‘fake.’
Shekau in the clip as reported by HumAngle in which he reacted to the new appointments, called out the name of each of the new service chiefs, and told them to rather join him.
“Leo Irabor, the head of the military, you should have sympathy for yourself, repent and convert to Islam. There is nothing you can do,” Shekau said.
He added that the new Chief of Army Staff, Maj-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru despite his Muslim background should not deceive himself as he is no longer a Muslim because of certain practices.
“Even if you are Muslim but you conduct polytheistic practices, you are no longer a Muslim,” Shekau added.