72nd Special Forces Battalion

72nd Special Forces Battalion
Active	April 2010;15 years ago (2010-04)
Country	Nigeria
Type	Special Forces
Role	Small-scale infantry/SF
Size	Battalion
Part of	Nigerian Army Special Operations Command[ citation needed ]
Garrison/HQ	Makurdi, Benue State
Nickname	The Silent Killers[ citation needed ]
Motto	"Who Dares Win"[ citation needed ]
Commanders
Current commander	Lieutenant Colonel A. S. Abdullahi

The 72nd Special Forces Battalion is a special forces unit of the Nigerian Army. It is stationed at Makurdi. ^[1]

Previously it appears to have been the 72 Paratrooper Battalion, including in the late 1980s; ^[2] it may have been re-designated circa 2010. There are indications that it may be an independent battalion which may report directly to Defence Headquarters.

The 72 Paratrooper Battalion was involved in the events of October 22 to 24, 2001, when several hundred Army soldiers of the Yola Brigade of 3rd Division killed more than two hundred unarmed civilians and destroyed homes, shops, public buildings and other property in more than seven towns and villages in Benue State, in central eastern Nigeria. The 72 Battalion appears to have tried to intercede with the Yola Brigade to avoid further killings, in the midst of the events. ^[3]

The battalion was reported to have been involved in Operation Lafiya Dole in early 2016, against Boko Haram. ^[4]

Commanders

• Colonel Timothy Lagbaja (circa 2015)
• Lieutenant Colonel A.D. Alhassan (?-present)

References

1. "Four killed in Benue village attack". The Nation Newspaper. 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
2. Brigadier General Saleh Bala (Rtd)
3. Human Rights Watch, [Military Revenge in Benue: A Population Under Attack, April 2002, Vol 14 (2) A.
4. "Operation Lafiya Dole - WhoWasInCommand". whowasincommand.com. Retrieved 2024-09-28.