An article shared on Facebook claims Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Danjuma Ali-Keffi as the new chief of army staff.
“President Muhammadu Buhari Appoints Danjuma Ali-Keffi As New Chief Of Army Staff,” reads another post making the same claim, circulating on Facebook since 23 May 2021.
It includes a photo of Danjuma Ali-Keffi, who is a major general in the country's army.
Using CrowdTangle, Facebook’s public insights tool, Africa Check found that this and similar messages have been shared hundreds of times in multiple public groups, attracting over 2,000 reactions.
But has Buhari really appointed Ali-Keffi as the new army chief? We checked.
Yahaya appointed new COAS
On 21 May, the Nigerian army announced the death of lieutenant general Ibrahim Attahiru, chief of army staff. He was killed alongside ten other officers in an air crash in Kaduna in northwestern Nigeria
A week later, on 27 May, Buhari appointed Farouk Yahaya, a major general, as the new chief of army staff.
Before his appointment Yahaya was the commander of an army division and responsible for counter terrorism and fighting insurgency in northeastern Nigeria.
Ali-Keffi is the general officer commanding of the 1 Division of the army in Kaduna. He was not appointed chief of army staff.
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