Agbakoba: Tinubu acted wisely in reshuffling service chiefs if coup rumour was true

Olisa Agbakoba, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to replace the nation’s service chiefs.

Tinubu had on Friday announced changes to the leadership of the armed forces as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s security architecture.

The shake-up saw new appointments across the defence hierarchy, including the replacement of the chief of defence staff (CDS).

Speaking on ‘Politics Today’, a Channels Television programme, Agbakoba said the president made the right call, especially if reports of a planned coup were true.

Reports have linked the cancellation of Nigeria’s 65th independence anniversary events on October 1 to an alleged military coup attempt.

But the defence headquarters (DHQ) had dismissed the reports, saying the cancellation had no links with the alleged coup attempt.

Reacting to the development, Agbakoba said the president demonstrated decisiveness that was lacking in the previous administration.

“You have a president who is prepared to take tough decisions, and we know that he likes to take tough decisions,” he said.

“I think he has done the right thing because his predecessor, the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, did not like to make such decisions and allowed his military team to stay far longer than they should have.”

The former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president added that the timing of the move was appropriate.

“So, if it is indeed true that there was a rumoured coup, I think he (Tinubu) acted sensibly by doing exactly what he has done,” he said.

“What we want to see now is the impact of that decision.”