Chief of Defence Staff | |
---|---|
Ministry of Defence | |
Abbreviation | CDS |
Member of |
|
Reports to | Minister of Defence |
Seat | Defence Headquarters, Abuja |
Appointer | President of Nigeria with advice and consent from Senate |
Constituting instrument | Constitution of Nigeria |
Formation | 1979 |
First holder | Ipoola Alani Akinrinade |
Website | Official website |
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) is the professional 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. The Chief of Defence is the highest ranking officer to currently serve in the 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.
The current chief of defence staff is General Christopher Musa, who succeeded General Lucky Irabor in June 2023.
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:
The chiefs have been: [1]
No. | Portrait | Chief of Defence Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
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1 | Ipoola Alani Akinrinade (born 1939) | Lieutenant General15 April 1980 | 2 October 1981 | 1 year, 170 days | Nigerian Army | – | |
2 | Gibson Jalo (1939–2000) | Lieutenant General2 October 1981 | 31 December 1983 | 2 years, 90 days | Nigerian Army | – | |
3 | Domkat Bali (1940–2020) Defence Minister | General1 January 1984 | August 1990 | 6 years, 212 days | Nigerian Army | – | |
4 | Sani Abacha (1943–1998) later military ruler | GeneralAugust 1990 | 17 November 1993 | 3 years, 108 days | Nigerian Army | – | |
5 | Oladipo Diya (1944–2023) Chief of General Staff | Lieutenant General17 November 1993 | 21 December 1997 | 4 years, 34 days | Nigerian Army | – | |
6 | Abdulsalami Abubakar (born 1942) later military ruler | Major General21 December 1997 | 9 June 1998 | 170 days | Nigerian Army | – | |
7 | Al-Amin Daggash (born 1942) | Air Marshal9 June 1998 | 29 May 1999 | 354 days | Nigerian Air Force | – | |
8 | Ibrahim Ogohi (born 1948) | Admiral29 May 1999 | 27 June 2003 | 4 years, 29 days | Nigerian Navy | – | |
9 | Alexander Ogomudia (born 1949) | General27 June 2003 | 1 June 2006 | 2 years, 339 days | Nigerian Army | – | |
10 | Martin Luther Agwai (born 1948) Later Commander of the UNAMID | General1 June 2006 | 25 May 2007 | 358 days | Nigerian Army | – | |
11 | Owoye Andrew Azazi (1952–2012) | General25 May 2007 | 20 August 2008 | 1 year, 87 days | Nigerian Army | – | |
12 | Paul Dike (born 1950) | Air Chief Marshal20 August 2008 | 8 September 2010 | 2 years, 19 days | Nigerian Air Force | – | |
13 | Oluseyi Petinrin (born 1955) | Air Chief Marshal8 September 2010 | 4 October 2012 | 2 years, 26 days | Nigerian Air Force | – | |
14 | Ola Ibrahim (born 1955) | Admiral4 October 2012 | 20 January 2014 | 1 year, 108 days | Nigerian Navy | – | |
15 | Alex Sabundu Badeh (1957–2018) | Air Chief Marshal20 January 2014 | 21 July 2015 | 1 year, 182 days | Nigerian Air Force | – | |
16 | Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin (born 1961) | General21 July 2015 | 29 January 2021 | 5 years, 192 days | Nigerian Army | – | |
17 | Lucky Irabor (born 1965) | General29 January 2021 | 23 June 2023 | 2 years, 145 days | Nigerian Army | – | |
18 | Christopher Gwabin Musa (born 1967) | General23 June 2023 | Incumbent | 236 days | Nigerian Army | – |
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