The latest posting of the Nigerian Army has drawn criticism from the human rights organisation Intersociety because it could heighten security, also known as the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law.
The group lamented that only three of the 19 officers in the most recent posting, 16 of them were Muslim from the north, were from the country's southern areas.
In a press release, Mr Emeka Umeagbalasi, the chairman of the Intersociety's board of trustees, expressed regret that the posting's lopsidedness also violated the nation's constitution, which lamented for a federal character in the distribution of federal positions.
Umeagbalasi said: “Intersociety is deeply dismayed by new postings announced by the authorities of the Nigerian Army. The authorities of the Nigerian Army and the Presidency have continued to collapse the high command cadre of the army in the hands of northerners, particularly members of the northern Muslim population.
“This army’s latest lopsided postings involving principal staff officers of the army headquarters, corps commanders, commandants of army training institutions, brigade commanders, commanding officers and so on whereby only three out of 19 top officers and their postings mentioned are southern Christians, while most of the remaining 16 are northern Muslims is unacceptable.
“It particularly saddens our heart that despite widespread public outcries in the east (South-east and South-south) against the flooding of the region with senior Muslim officers, the authorities of the Nigerian Army have stopped at nothing by continuing to flood the region with senior northern Muslim officers.
“It is not only that no Southeast officer from the rank of major general was among those in the new postings as a GOC, but another northern Muslim Major General (Aminu S. Chinade) has been posted to 82 Division, Enugu as GOC.”
The group said that the latest postings by the Nigerian Army are “unconstitutional, unlawful, dictatorial, vexatious, illegitimate and undemocratic.”
“The postings were specifically done in total disregard to Section 217 (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended. The Section clearly states as follows: ‘the composition of the officer corps and other ranks of the Armed Forces of the Federation shall reflect the federal character (geopolitical balancing) of Nigeria.’
“The postings were also done in grave violation of Section 219 of the Constitution and principles of indigenous involvement or participation by members of the country’s ethnic nationalities in the activities of the armed forces, including senior and junior officers’ promotions and postings.”
The group said that its investigation revealed that no fewer than eight successive GOCs of the 82 Division, Enugu, between July 2015 and January 2023 are Muslims, including seven northern Muslims posted to the division as GOCs in quick succession.
It added that this is capable of escalating ethnoreligious security, and also threatens the transparency of the forthcoming presidential election, which holds in February.