Hot SourceReactions have continued to trail the major shake-up in the security architecture approved by President Bola Tinubu on Friday.
Some social media users who reacted to the development attributed the sack of the service chiefs to a recent rumour of an attempted military coup in Nigeria.
DAILY POST reports that social media was flooded last week with rumours of an attempted military coup, but the Nigerian Army vehemently debunked them.
The alleged coup plot, which was reported by several online newspapers, claimed that some soldiers linked to the plan had been arrested.
Barely a week after the report, President Bola Tinubu on Friday sacked the service chiefs.
Tinubu, according to a statement by his media aide, Sunday Dare, named Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede as the new Chief of Defence Staff, replacing General Christopher Musa, while Major-General W. Shaibu was appointed as the new Chief of Army Staff.
In the same vein, Air Vice Marshal S.K. Aneke became Chief of Air Staff, while Rear Admiral I. Abbas is the new Chief of Naval Staff.
Social media users subsequently took to their various accounts to express their views on the development.
They alleged that the President dismissed the service chiefs due to the alleged coup plot to overthrow his government.
Here are some of the reactions from X (formerly Twitter) as compiled by DAILY POST:
@abbkar_ai: “The killings of innocent citizens on a daily basis by bandits and Boko Haram were not enough to prompt the removal of the Service Chiefs, yet a mere coup plot against the President suddenly became the reason for their dismissal.
“It’s heartbreaking that the lives of ordinary Nigerians mean so little until power itself feels threatened.”
@ennyola0015: “The coup d’état rumor turned out to be true. President Tinubu’s decision to sack the service chiefs wasn’t merely precautionary; it was a bold and assertive move.”
@mni_JJ: “They have confirmed that the coup attempt was real. Service chiefs, including the Southern Kaduna star boy, have been dismissed.”
@Maibitil_: “The innocent citizens who were brutally killed by bandits, along with the security personnel murdered by Boko Haram, were not enough to sack the Service Chiefs until a coup plot against his poor Govt was revealed. What a callous and avaricious intoxicated leader.”
@mindaffairss: “Lie about a Fake coup so you can replace the few service chiefs from the North with your kinsmen from the SW. Federal republic of APC yoruba version.”
However, a presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, told DAILY POST that Tinubu’s move was aimed at boosting “security across the nation”.
