The former Chief of Defence Staff and the two other service chiefs, who were retired from Service by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday, will each go home with one bulletproof SUV and one Prado Jeep, or an equivalent vehicle as a backup.
These vehicles are to be maintained by the respective Services and replaced every four years.
According to the new Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service (HTACOS) 2024, signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu — a copy of which was obtained by Sunday LEADERSHIP — the retired officers will also receive $20,000 per year for medical expenses.
The document, marked ‘Restricted’, also outlines the benefits due to retired generals and other senior officers of the Armed Forces upon leaving service.
President Bola Tinubu yesterday removed the service chiefs and appointed their replacements.
The statement announcing their removal, signed by Sunday Dare, the special adviser to the president on media and public communication, said the action was taken to further the federal government’s efforts to strengthen the national security architecture.
The President appointed former Army Chief, General Olufemi Oluyede, as the new Chief of Defence Staff, replacing General Christopher Musa. The new Chief of Army Staff is Major-General W. Shaibu, Air Vice Marshal S. K. Aneke becomes Chief of Air Staff, while Rear Admiral I. Abbas is the new Chief of Naval Staff.
The Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major-General E. A. P. Undiendeye, retains his position.
Those sacked alongside General Musa are the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar.
Each of the service chiefs is also entitled to five domestic workers, one security officer, nine standard guards, three service drivers, firearms, and other benefits.
“The following benefits shall be the entitlements of the CDS and Service Chiefs: one bulletproof SUV or equivalent vehicle, to be maintained by the Service and replaced every four years; one Prado Jeep or equivalent backup vehicle; retention of all military uniforms and accoutrements to be worn for appropriate ceremonies; five domestic aides (2 x Service cooks, 2 x stewards, and 1 x civilian gardener); one Aide-de-Camp/Security Officer; one Special Assistant (Lt/Capt or equivalent) or one personal assistant (WO or equivalent); standard guard (9 soldiers); three Service drivers; one Service orderly; escorts (to be provided by appropriate military units/formations as the need arises); retention of personal firearms (to be retrieved by the relevant Service upon the officer’s demise); and free medical cover in Nigeria and abroad.”
According to the document, Lieutenant-Generals and equivalents are entitled to the following: one Toyota Hilux vehicle and one Toyota Land Cruiser or equivalent Jeep of the same value; two cooks, two stewards, four residential guards, one Service orderly, two Service drivers, and free medical care in Nigeria and abroad up to the value of $20,000 per year.
Furthermore, retiring Major-Generals, Brigadier-Generals, or their equivalents will be entitled to: one Toyota Land Cruiser or equivalent vehicle, one cook, one steward, two residential guards, one Service orderly, one Service driver, and free medical cover in Nigeria and abroad up to $15,000 per annum.
Similarly, officers of one-star rank are to enjoy the following: one Toyota Camry or equivalent vehicle, one Service driver, two residential guards, one Service orderly, and free medical cover in Nigeria and abroad up to $10,000 per annum.
Federal Government to Spend More on Other Retiring Generals
Yesterday’s retirement of the service chiefs is expected to trigger voluntary and forced retirements within the military hierarchy, as some senior generals who are contemporaries of the outgoing service chiefs may have to proceed on retirement in line with military tradition.
The new service chiefs, who are members of Course 40 and 41 of the Nigerian Defence Academy, replace their predecessors from Course 39, including the new Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede.
By this appointment, generals from Courses 39, 40, and some from Course 41 across the Services will have to retire, as they are not expected to salute their juniors who have now been elevated above them.
LEADERSHIP Weekend earlier reported that members of Course 39 remain in active service, occupying strategic positions such as Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) at Service Headquarters and Commanders of tri-Service institutions.
Military sources, who initially said more than 50 such generals would have to voluntarily exit the Service to allow the new Service Chiefs to exercise effective control, now say the number could exceed that, since the new Chief of Army Staff is from Course 41.
“We will have more than 60 generals retiring. The new Army Chief is from Course 41. Those in service from Course 39 and even some from 41 will want to retire,” the source said.
With the retirement packages outlined above, the Federal Government will have to provide substantial funds to settle the retirees.
Senate May Confirm Nominations This Week
The Senate joint committee on Defence, Army and Navy is expected to commence the screening exercise of the newly-appointed service chiefs.
It is believed that the president would have written to the Senate at the weekend to intimate its leadership about the fresh appointments.
Their screening is expected to be done behind closed doors.
Expectedly, the nominees are expected to promise to tackle insecurity in the country.
Service Chiefs’ Change Strategic for Tinubu – Obono-Obla
Meanwhile, a former Chairman of the Special Presidential Investigative Panel on Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, has described President Tinubu’s reshuffle of service chiefs as a strategic realignment aimed at entrenching deeper reforms as he moves towards completing his first four-year term.
The former special aassistant to the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari on prosecution added that the change demonstrates a canny mastery of the push and pull of the country’s centripetal and centrifugal forces.
Obono-Obla said on Sunday that: “It reflects how he (Tinubu) has been able to navigate and manoeuvre through the complexities of governance. After settling into office, he engaged in midterm rumination — pondering and reflecting on the imperative of assembling a new team within the Armed Forces and security apparatuses.”
Obono-Obla explained that the move signals a strategic realignment and that it is time to assess performance in the military and security sectors.
“The shake-up and introduction of a new team — reinvigorated and with a fresh lease of life — aims to ensure that the security challenges which have grappled and confronted the country are dealt with decisively, using new gusto, fresh strategies, and dynamic trajectories.
“Mr President has also subtly used this opportunity to manoeuvre through the nuances and subtleties of the country’s fault lines, which have long dogged its progress.
In doing so, he has sought to balance geopolitical sensibilities and touch all potential flashpoints where cries of political marginalisation often emerge,” he said.
Veteran gospel music icon Toun Soetan dies at 73 and songwriter, Toun Soetan, popularly known as Evangelist Shouet, has passed away at the age of 73.
Evangelist Soetan would have been 73 years old on June 18, 2026.
The respected evangelist and gospel music pioneer was widely known as the original composer of the beloved Christian chorus “Darling Jesus,” a song that has been sung in churches across Nigeria and around the world for decades.
Her music ministry spanned more than 40 years, making her one of the most influential voices in Yoruba gospel music.
Throughout her career, Soetan’s songs were widely described as inspirational and motivational, particularly during the early 1990s when many of her worship choruses gained popularity in churches and revival meetings.
Beyond “Darling Jesus,” some of her notable songs include “Ke Pe Jesu” and “Cast Your Burdens,” which became widely used in Christian worship.
In addition to her music ministry, Soetan served as the Minister in Charge of Trinity World Evangelical Ministry, where she dedicated much of her life to preaching, teaching, and mentoring younger gospel ministers.
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, she spent part of her early life abroad before returning to Nigeria for her education. She later studied at the University of Ibadan before committing fully to evangelism and gospel music.Nigerian Business Insights
Over the decades, Evangelist Soetan built a legacy as a teacher, evangelist, and worship leader whose songs were rooted in scripture and aimed at spreading the Christian message.
Many Nigerian gospel artists and church leaders have credited her as one of the pioneers who helped shape indigenous gospel worship in Nigeria.
Her death on March 13, 2026, has sparked tributes from members of the Christian community who remember her as a passionate minister whose music touched generations of believers.
The Oyo State Fire Services Agency has recovered three bodies and rescued five persons after a commercial bus plunged into the Ariyo River along Amunloko Road in Ona-Ara Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday.
The incident was confirmed in a statement issued on Thursday in Ibadan, the state capital, by the Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Fire Services and Chairman of the agency, Moroof Akinwande.
Akinwande said the agency received a distress call at about 3:38 pm through a resident, Fadeke Yusuf, reporting that a vehicle had fallen into the river in the area.
According to him, firefighters were immediately deployed to the scene to carry out rescue operations.
He explained that upon arrival, the rescue team discovered that a Suzuki commercial bus with number plate OSUN LEW 484 XA, carrying eight passengers, had lost control and plunged into the river.
Five occupants were rescued alive and rushed to Ona-Ara Private Hospital in the Jegede area for treatment, while three others were recovered dead.
The remains of the deceased were handed over to a team of policemen from the Ogbere Divisional Headquarters led by ASP Aishat Ibrahim.
Akinwande attributed the accident to reckless driving.
He added that officials of the Oyo State Road Traffic Management Authority from the Ona-Ara Division and the Chairman of Ona-Ara Local Government, Glorious Temitope, were present during the rescue operation.
The fire service boss urged motorists to drive with caution and adhere strictly to road safety rules to prevent avoidable accidents.
UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, has warned that violence against women and girls continues to be fuelled by war, militarisation and entrenched inequality, urging governments to move beyond condemnation and take decisive action.
Speaking at a high-level meeting marking five years of the UN Group of Friends for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, she said conflicts around the world are exposing women and girls to severe and lasting harm.
The UN deputy chief spoke on the sidelines of the ongoing 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday.
CSW is the United Nations’ principal global body dedicated to promoting gender equality and the rights and empowerment of women.
Established in 1946 by the UN Economic and Social Council, the Commission plays a central role in setting global standards on women’s rights and reviewing progress on gender equality
According to the UN, more than 4,500 cases of conflict-related sexual violence were verified in 2024, although the true number is likely far higher due to stigma, fear and collapsed reporting systems.
The deputy secretary-general pointed to alarming patterns in several crises. In Sudan, UN experts have reported widespread sexual violence and attacks on women human rights defenders.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a child has been reported raped every half hour, while in Haiti, sexual violence against children surged dramatically in recent years.
Mohammed stressed that women must be central to peace processes and political decision-making, warning that lasting peace cannot be achieved while women and girls remain excluded and unprotected.
In a related development, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said he was appalled by the devastating impact on civilians of increasing drone attacks in Sudan, amid reports that more than 200 civilians have been killed by drones since March 4 alone, in the Kordofan region and White Nile state.
“It is deeply troubling that despite multiple reminders, warnings and appeals, parties to the conflict continue to use increasingly powerful drones to deploy explosive weapons with wide-area impacts in populated areas,” the High Commissioner said.
He renewed his call for both sides in the brutal civil conflict between rival militaries to fully abide by international law, “particularly the clear prohibition on directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects and infrastructure, and against any form of indiscriminate attacks.”
In West Kordofan, at least 152 civilians have reportedly been killed by Sudanese army drone strikes, including at least 50 when a market and a hospital were hit.
Attacks on two separate markets in Abu Zabad and Wad Banda on March 7 left at least 40 civilians dead, and a lorry carrying civilians was struck allegedly by a SAF drone on 10 March, reportedly killing at least 50 civilians.
In South Kordofan, at least 39 civilians were reportedly killed, including 14 in the state capital Dilling, in heavy artillery shelling by the Rapid Support Forces and allied SPLM-North between 4 and 5 March.
Many homes, schools, markets and health facilities were damaged or destroyed in the attacks, compounding the impacts on civilians and local communities.
The High Commissioner also expressed alarm at the recent expansion of the conflict to White Nile state, which has come under heavy attack by RSF militia drone strikes since 4 March. A secondary school and a health clinic in Shukeiri village were hit on 11 March, reportedly killing at least 17 civilians, one of them a health worker.
“It will soon be three full years since the senseless conflict in Sudan began, devastating millions of lives and livelihoods. Yet the violence, fueled by these new technologies of war, simply keeps spreading,” Türk said.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which opens on Monday, will end on March 19.
Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organisations from all regions of the world, including Nigeria, are attending the session.
The priority theme of the session will be ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and addressing structural barriers.
