Chief of the Defence Staff (Nigeria)

The Chief of Defence Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is occupied by the most senior commissioned officer appointed by the President of Nigeria. The position was established for the first time under Nigeria's 1979 constitution.

Chief of the Defence Staff
Seal of the Nigerian Defence Staff
Standard of the Chief of Defence Staff
Incumbent
General Lucky Irabor
since 26 January 2021
Ministry of Defence
TypeHighest ranking Nigerian military officer
AbbreviationCDS
Member of
  • National Security Council
  • National Defence Council
Reports toMinister of Defence
SeatDefence Headquarters, Abuja
AppointerPresident of Nigeria
with advice and consent from Senate
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Nigeria
FormationApril 1980
First holderIpoola Alani Akinrinade
WebsiteOfficial website

Role

The Chief of Defence Staff gives operational directives to the Nigerian Armed Forces through the service chiefs and reports to the commander-in-Chief with administrative supervision of the Honourable Minister of Defence. It is the duty and responsibility of the CDS to formulate and execute policies, programmes towards the highest attainment of National Security and operational competence of the Armed Forces namely; the Army, Navy and Air Force.

The CDS is assisted by the other Service Chiefs:

List of Chief of the Defence Staff

The chiefs have been:[1]

No. Portrait Chief of Defence StaffTook officeLeft officeTime in officeDefence branchRef.
1
Akinrinade, Ipoola AlaniLieutenant General
Ipoola Alani Akinrinade
(born 1939)		April 19802 October 19811 year, 6 months Nigerian Army–
2
Jalo, GibsonLieutenant General
Gibson Jalo
(1939–2000)		2 October 198131 December 19832 years, 90 days Nigerian Army–
3
Bali, DomkatGeneral
Domkat Bali
(1940–2020)		1 January 198410 January 19906 years, 9 days Nigerian Army–
4
Abacha, SaniGeneral
Sani Abacha
(1943–1998)		10 January 199017 November 19933 years, 311 days Nigerian Army–
5
Diya, OladipoLieutenant General
Oladipo Diya
(born 1944)		17 November 199321 December 19974 years, 34 days Nigerian Army–
6
Abubakar, AbdulsalamiGeneral
Abdulsalami Abubakar
(born 1942)		21 December 19979 June 1998170 days Nigerian Army–
7
Daggash, Al-AminAir Marshal
Al-Amin Daggash
(born 1942)		9 June 199829 May 1999354 days Nigerian Air Force–
8
Ogohi, IbrahimAdmiral
Ibrahim Ogohi
(born 1948)		29 May 199927 June 20034 years, 29 days Nigerian Navy–
9
Ogomudia, AlexanderGeneral
Alexander Ogomudia
(born 1949)		27 June 20031 June 20063 years, 26 days Nigerian Army–
10
Agwai, Martin LutherGeneral
Martin Luther Agwai
(born 1948)		1 June 200625 May 2007358 days Nigerian Army–
11
Azazi, Owoye AndrewGeneral
Owoye Andrew Azazi
(1952–2012)		25 May 200720 August 20081 year, 118 days Nigerian Army–
12
Dike, PaulAir Chief Marshal
Paul Dike		20 August 20088 September 20101 year, 353 days Nigerian Air Force–
13
Petinrin, OluseyiAir Chief Marshal
Oluseyi Petinrin
(born 1955)		8 September 20105 October 20122 years, 27 days Nigerian Air Force–
14
Ibrahim, OlaAdmiral
Ola Ibrahim
(born 1955)		5 October 201216 January 20141 year, 103 days Nigerian Navy–
15
Badeh, AlexAir Chief Marshal
Alex Badeh
(1957–2018)		16 January 201413 July 20151 year, 178 days Nigerian Air Force–
16
Olonisakin, Abayomi GabrielGeneral
Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin
(born 1961)		13 July 201526 January 20216 years, 276 days Nigerian Army–
17
Irabor, LeoGeneral
Lucky Irabor
(born 1965)		26 January 2021Incumbent1 year, 79 days Nigerian Army–

References
  1. "CDS CHRONICLES". defencehq.mil.ng. The Defence Headquarters. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.