No, Nigerian president Bola Tinubu has not ordered Igbo military officers to surrender their weapons and resign
IN SHORT: Some Facebook posts claim that Nigeria's president has ordered military officers of Igbo origin to submit their weapons and resign. But there is no evidence of such a directive.
Nigerian president Bola Tinubu has ordered military officers from the Igbo ethnic group to hand over their weapons and resign. That's according to a post in a public Facebook group with over 71,000 members.
The post reads: "Breaking News: President Tinubu has issued a directive for all Igbo military officers to surrender their weapons and report back to the barracks immediately. He also demanded the resignation of all high-ranking Igbo generals from their positions."
The claim can also be found here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of the report.)
The Igbo are from the southeast region, which seceded from Nigeria in 1967 to form a sovereign state called the Republic of Biafra. The state collapsed after a 30-month civil war.
In the Nigerian military, the term "military officer" is used for commissioned officers with senior ranks from second lieutenant to field marshal. They are usually graduates of military academies, such as the Nigerian Defence Academy.
The claim began circulating in early March 2025, weeks after the release of former military head of state Ibrahim Babangida's new book, A Journey in Service. The book sparked debates about key events in Nigeria's political history.
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One of the most talked about events the book highlighted was Nigeria's first military coup d'état in January 1966. Igbo military officers were accused of plotting and leading the coup, which triggered a chain of events and led to the Nigerian Civil War.
But has Tinubu ordered Igbo military officers to submit their weapons and resign? We checked.
No evidence of the claim
Ethnicity is a major factor in Nigerian politics, so decisions that affect specific ethnic groups are usually not made lightly.
It is highly unlikely that Tinubu, who is of the Yoruba ethnic group, would order all military officers of the Igbo ethnic group to resign, as this would heighten ethnic tensions and potentially lead to unrest.
The presidency and the military chiefs would have communicated this directive. But they have not made such an announcement.
It would also be widely reported in the media. But we couldn't find any reports from credible sources on this.
We found no evidence that Tinubu gave such a directive. The claim is false.
The false claim was also posted here, here, here, here, here and here.
