Nigeria has forced the retirement of all military officers who had previously held political office. The new civilian government had observed that officers who had held political posts lived more lavishly than those who had not, causing resentment among the career military officers. The new House of Representatives has asked the government to relocate the five military units that surround the presidential palace to prevent them from staging a future coup against the elected government.--Stephen V Cole

September 5; The new reform government plans to reform the national police force. The current force is noted for its corruption and ineffectiveness. The plan is to retire 50,000 and recruit 125,000 officers over the next five years, as well as reforming police procedures. Meanwhile, Nigeria has told the United Nations that Nigerian peacekeeping troops will be withdrawn from Sierra Leone in the next few months whether or not the UN has new troops available to replace them.

September 4; Nigeria plans to cut its military from 80,000 personnel to 50,000 as part of its transition to democracy. The Army will be cut the most (to 30,000); the Air Force and Navy will be reduced to 10,000 men each. Dismissed troops will be retrained for civilian jobs.--Stephen V Cole

September1; Nigeria is withdrawing its peacekeeping troops from Liberia, where 80 of its soldiers have been killed over the last six years.