The move comes less than a week after Nigerian media reported a foiled coup plot -- though the government and military denied the reports.

"I have approved changes in the hierarchy of our Armed Forces to further strengthen Nigeria's national security architecture," President Bola Tinubu said in a brief statement.

General Christopher Musa, who was appointed chief of defence staff in 2023, has overseen multiple high-profile summits in the capital Abuja, drawing together defence officials from west Africa and the wider continent.

However, the country's long-running fight against Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province militants is still raging in the northeast.

While violence has waned since its peak a decade ago, the conflict continues to grind on across rural swathes of the northeast, and researchers have warned of an uptick in jihadist attacks this year.

The military is stretched across multiple fronts, fighting armed gangs known as "bandits" in the northwest as well as separatists in the southeast.

General Olufemi Oluyede, appointed chief of defence staff to replace Musa, hails from Tinubu's home region, southwest Nigeria.

The chief of intelligence has not been replaced.

Over the weekend, Nigerian outlets Sahara Reporters and Premium Times reported that at least 16 officers were planning to overthrow Tinubu.

The military had announced earlier this month that 16 officers had been arrested over "issues of indiscipline".

Citing defence sources, the newspapers reported that the arrests were in fact linked to a coup plot.

Both the military and the government said the reporting was false.