Chief of Defence Staff (Nigeria)

Last updated

Chief of Defence Staff
Chief of Defence Staff Nigeria Standard.png
Standard of the chief of defence staff
240119-A-UH083-1010 Christopher Musa.jpg
since 23 June 2023
Ministry of Defence
AbbreviationCDS
Member of
  • National Security Council
  • National Defence Council
Reports to Minister of Defence
Seat Defence Headquarters, Abuja
Appointer President of Nigeria
with advice and consent from Senate
Constituting instrument Constitution of Nigeria
Formation1979
(46 years ago) (1979)
First holder Ipoola Alani Akinrinade
Website Official website

The chief of defence staff (CDS) is the head of the Nigerian Armed Forces and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the minister of defence and the president of Nigeria. The chief of the defence staff is based at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja and works alongside the permanent secretary of defence.

Contents

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.

The current chief of defence staff is General Christopher Musa, who succeeded General Lucky Irabor in June 2023. [1]

Role

The chiefs tof 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 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 Chiefs of Defence Staff

The chiefs have been: [2]

No.PortraitChief of Defence StaffTook officeLeft officeTime in officeDefence branchRef.
1
No image.png
Akinrinade, Ipoola Alani Lieutenant General
Ipoola Alani Akinrinade
(born 1939)		15 April 19802 October 19811 year, 170 daysFlag of the Nigerian Army Headquarters.svg  Nigerian Army –
2
Lt. Col. G. S. Jalo, Commander 2nd Div. from ASC Leiden - Rietveld Collection - Nigeria 1970 - 1973 - 01 - 093 New Nigerian newspaper page 7 January 1970. End of the Nigerian civil war with Biafra (cropped).jpg
Jalo, GibsonLieutenant General
Gibson Jalo
(1939–2000)		2 October 198131 December 19832 years, 90 daysFlag of the Nigerian Army Headquarters.svg  Nigerian Army –
3
No image.png
Bali, Domkat General
Domkat Bali
(1940–2020)
Defence Minister 		1 January 1984August 19906 years, 212 daysFlag of the Nigerian Army Headquarters.svg  Nigerian Army –
4
No image.png
Abacha, SaniGeneral
Sani Abacha
(1943–1998)
later military ruler		August 199017 November 19933 years, 108 daysFlag of the Nigerian Army Headquarters.svg  Nigerian Army –
5
No image.png
Diya, OladipoLieutenant General
Oladipo Diya
(1944–2023)
Chief of General Staff 		17 November 199321 December 19974 years, 34 daysFlag of the Nigerian Army Headquarters.svg  Nigerian Army –
6
Abdulsalami Abubakar detail DF-SC-02-04323.jpg
Abubakar, Abdulsalami Major General
Abdulsalami Abubakar
(born 1942)
later military ruler		21 December 19979 June 1998170 daysFlag of the Nigerian Army Headquarters.svg  Nigerian Army –
7
Al-amin Daggash 1.jpg
Daggash, Al-Amin Air Marshal
Al-Amin Daggash
(born 1942)		9 June 199829 May 1999354 daysAir Force Ensign of Nigeria.svg  Nigerian Air Force –
8
No image.png
Ogohi, Ibrahim Admiral
Ibrahim Ogohi
(1948–2024)		29 May 199927 June 20034 years, 29 daysNaval Ensign of Nigeria.svg  Nigerian Navy –
9
No image.png
Ogomudia, AlexanderGeneral
Alexander Ogomudia
(born 1949)		27 June 20031 June 20062 years, 339 daysFlag of the Nigerian Army Headquarters.svg  Nigerian Army –
10
GEN (R) Martin L. Agwai - Panel Discussion - African Land Forces Summit - May 2010.jpg
Agwai, Martin LutherGeneral
Martin Luther Agwai
(born 1948)
Later Commander of the UNAMID 		1 June 200625 May 2007358 daysFlag of the Nigerian Army Headquarters.svg  Nigerian Army –
11
General Owoye Azazi 2008.jpeg
Azazi, Owoye AndrewGeneral
Owoye Andrew Azazi
(1952–2012)		25 May 200720 August 20081 year, 87 daysFlag of the Nigerian Army Headquarters.svg  Nigerian Army –
12
No image.png
Dike, Paul Air Chief Marshal
Paul Dike
(born 1950)		20 August 20088 September 20102 years, 19 daysAir Force Ensign of Nigeria.svg  Nigerian Air Force –
13
No image.png
Petinrin, OluseyiAir Chief Marshal
Oluseyi Petinrin
(born 1955)		8 September 20104 October 20122 years, 26 daysAir Force Ensign of Nigeria.svg  Nigerian Air Force –
14
Olaibrahim.jpg
Ibrahim, OlaAdmiral
Ola Ibrahim
(born 1955)		4 October 201220 January 20141 year, 108 daysNaval Ensign of Nigeria.svg  Nigerian Navy –
15
Alex Sabundu Badeh's Personal Picture.jpg
Badeh, AlexAir Chief Marshal
Alex Sabundu Badeh
(1957–2018)		20 January 201421 July 20151 year, 182 daysAir Force Ensign of Nigeria.svg  Nigerian Air Force –
16
African Land Force Summit2018 with Nigerian CoD (cropped).jpg
Olonisakin, AbayomiGeneral
Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin
(born 1961)		21 July 201529 January 20215 years, 192 daysFlag of the Nigerian Army Headquarters.svg  Nigerian Army –
17
No image.png
Irabor, LuckyGeneral
Lucky Irabor
(born 1965)		29 January 202123 June 20232 years, 145 daysFlag of the Nigerian Army Headquarters.svg  Nigerian Army –
18
240119-A-UH083-1010 Christopher Musa.jpg
Musa, ChristopherGeneral
Christopher Gwabin Musa
(born 1967)		23 June 2023Incumbent2 years, 66 daysFlag of the Nigerian Army Headquarters.svg  Nigerian Army –

References

  1. ↑ "Musa takes over as defence chief, vows to defeat terrorists". Premium Times Nigeria. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  2. ↑ "CDS CHRONICLES". defencehq.mil.ng. The Defence Headquarters. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.