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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001671 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W, INR/AA 
DOE FOR GEORGE PERSON 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2018 
TAGS: PGOV MORG MILI MPOL NI
SUBJECT: SWEEPING CHANGES IN NIGERIA'S MILITARY 
 
Classified By: Acting DCM Walter Pflaumer for reasons 1.4. (b & d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On August 21, the GON announced long-awaited 
changes in Nigeria's top military personnel, including Chief 
of Defense Staff (CDS), Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Army 
Staff, and Chief of Air Staff.  Replacing General Azazi as 
CDS is former Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Dike, now 
promoted to Air Chief Marshal.  The new Chief of Air Staff is 
Air Vice Marshal Petirin, now promoted to Air Marshal; the 
new Chief of Naval Staff is Rear Admiral Ibrahim, now 
promoted to Vice Admiral; and the new Chief of Army Staff is 
Major General Dambazau, now promoted to Lieutenant General. 
The shake-up takes place within two days of significant 
changes in the staff at the Presidential Villa, and is viewed 
by many as an effort to remove ineffective and allegedly 
corrupt officers, and as part of a continuing move to purge 
the upper ranks of government of former President Olusegun 
Obasanjo's appointees.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.(U) On August 20, Presidential spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi 
announced the replacement of Nigeria's Chief of Defense Staff 
and all three service chiefs.  Effective immediately, Air 
Marshal Paul Dike (pronounced DEE-kay) will replace General 
Owoye Andrew Azazi as CDS, with former Defense Headquarters 
Director of Electronic Warfare Air Vice Marshal Oluseyi 
Petirin taking over as Chief of Air Staff.  Major General 
Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau will take over from Lt. General 
Luka Yusuf as Chief of Army Staff, having previously served 
as commander of the 2nd Mechanized Division in Ibadan.  Also 
announced was the replacement of Vice Admiral Ganiyu Adekeye 
as Chief of Naval Staff by Rear Admiral Ishaya Iko Ibrahim, 
formerly head of Western Naval Command in Lagos.  According 
to press reports, after finalizing the new appointments, 
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua left Nigeria for Saudi Arabia 
to perform the lesser hajj. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  The appointments come shortly after President 
Yar'Adua announced significant changes in his own 
Presidential staff, scrapping the offices of Chief of Staff 
and Deputy Chief of Staff, which were created by Obasanjo and 
staffed with holdovers from his administration (see septel). 
The previous CDS and service chiefs were also appointed by 
Obasanjo.  Except for Dike, who was appointed Chief of Air 
Staff under Obasanjo, all of the appointees are new to the 
senior levels of government, and all of them are viewed as 
non-political and have reputations for professionalism and 
honesty.  The new appointments also maintain the ethnic and 
geographic balance which is a fundamental part of the 
Nigerian political system: Dike is a Christian Igbo from the 
Niger Delta, Ibrahim is a Christian from the North, Dambazau 
is a Muslim Hausa/Fulani from the Northwest, and Petirin is a 
Christian Yoruba from the Southwest. 
 
¶4. (C)  COMMENT: The new CDS and Service Chiefs are replacing 
men largely viewed as ineffective and/or tainted by 
corruption -- dissatisfaction in the Army over pay and 
allegations of embezzlement by the senior ranks has been high 
during Azazi's and Yusuf's tenures.  Admiral Adekeye, in 
particular, was viewed by most observers as a highly corrupt 
officer, who was allegedly personally involved in the 
"bunkering" (stealing at source) of Nigerian crude oil, and 
who, in any case, oversaw the most corrupt branch of service. 
 Also, Azazi's and Yusuf's mutual animosity was notorious, 
and undermined their ability to work together.  Another major 
factor in the changes was likely the lack of progress the 
Joint Task Force has made in stabilizing the security 
situation in the Niger Delta.  The new men are all widely 
respected for their integrity, intellect and professionalism. 
 Dike has attended training in the U.S. 
 
¶5. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED:  Post views the new appointments 
with guarded optimism -- while integrity, effectiveness, and 
desperately needed reform are not assured by the introduction 
 
ABUJA 00001671  002 OF 002 
 
 
of fresh new faces, it is encouraging to see President 
Yar'Adua at last making a decision.  The departure of corrupt 
and/or ineffective officers is also certainly to be welcomed. 
 Moreover, viewed against the larger backdrop of Nigeria's 
troubled history of military intervention in government, it 
is significant that a Nigerian Head of State can make a clean 
sweep of the upper military ranks, then travel out of the 
country with no apparent concern that he can safely return. 
END COMMENT. 
PIASCIK