The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) is the highest-ranking military officer of the Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF). This position is occupied by the most senior commissioned officer appointed by the President, who also serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Responsibilities of the Chief of Defence Staff
It is the duty and responsibility of the CDS to formulate and execute policies and programs towards the highest attainment of National Security and operational competence of the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces include the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The Chief of Defence Staff reports to the commander-in-Chief with administrative supervision of the Honourable Minister of Defence.
The CDS gives operational directives to the Nigerian Armed Forces through the service chiefs.
Structure of the Nigerian Armed Forces
The Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF) are the military forces of Nigeria. The forces consist of three service branches: the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Air Force.
- Nigerian Army (NA): The land branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces and the largest among the armed forces.
- Nigerian Navy (NN): The sea branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
- Nigerian Air Force: Formally established in January 1964, with technical assistance from West Germany.
The President of Nigeria functions as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, exercising his constitutional authority through the Ministry of Defence, which is responsible for the management of the military and its personnel. The operational head of the AFN is the Chief of Defence Staff, who is subordinate to the Nigerian Defence Minister.
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The National Defence Council has been in existence since 1979 and advises the President on matters relating to the armed forces.
The Nigerian Navy command structure today consists of the Naval Headquarters in Abuja as well as three other operational commands with headquarters in Lagos, Calabar and Bayelsa. The training command headquarters are located in Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria, but with training facilities spread all over Nigeria.
The Air Force started as a transport unit, with the aircrew being trained in Canada, Ethiopia and Pakistan. Nigeria has continued a strict policy of diversification in its military procurement from various countries.
Recent Appointments in the Nigerian Armed Forces
Under the new appointments, General Olufemi Oluyede replaced General Christopher Musa as Chief of Defence Staff. Additionally, Major-General W. Shaibu has been appointed as the new Chief of Army Staff, Rear Admiral I. Abbas as the new Chief of Naval Staff, and Air Vice Marshal S.K. Aneke as the new Chief of Air Staff.
Lt.-Gen Olufemi Oluyede - Chief of Defence Staff (COAS)
Lt.-Gen Olufemi Oluyede, the new Chief of Defence Staff (COAS) is a member of the 39th Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy. Oluyede, an infantry officer, has a military career spanning numerous command and staff roles across Nigeria and in various international deployments.
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During his one-year tenure as Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Oluyede championed troop welfare in all ramifications. Five months into his appointment, he increased the daily Ration Cash Allowance for Nigerian Army troops from N1,500 to N3,000. To address accommodation challenges, he introduced a housing scheme to ensure officers have a place to live after retirement.
His appointment as the new Chief of Defence Staff has not only placed a battle-tested commander at the helm of Nigeria’s highest military structure, but also a commander who values personnel welfare and civil-military relations as significant factors enhancing operational successes. Having understood the importance of welfare in troop morale, Gen. Maj-Gen.
Maj-Gen. Major General Waidi Shaibu - Chief of Army Staff
Major General Waidi Shaibu, a member of 41 Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy, is from the Armour Corps. One of his notable achievements as GOC 7 Division and Commander Sector 1 during his 14-month tenure was the successful deep clearance operations into the Sambisa Forest and Timbuktu Triangle in February 2024.
During an award ceremony organised in Maiduguri, both the Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, and the Theater Commander Operation Hadin Kai, Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Sambo Ali, described Maj-Gen. “Before I came here, I had been hearing about his exploits. But when I came to the theatre, I knew he was an asset to the Nigerian Army, based on what I have seen him displayed,” Ali said.
On his part, Governor Zulum reflected on how Gen. “Shaibu is a simple person, dedicated and unassuming.
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Air Vice Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke - Chief of Air Staff
Air Vice Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke is the 23rd Chief of Air Staff. He hails from Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, and started his military career on 10 September 1988 when he was enlisted into the Nigerian Defence Academy as a member of 40th Regular Course.
Air Vice Marshal Aneke attended various military courses in the course of his career. The new NAF boss has flown Air Beetle 18, Air Beetle 18 extended version, Dornier - 228, Citation - 500, Falcon 900, Gulfs tream V, Gulf Stream 550 and the Hawker - 4000.
The new Chief of Air Staff faces significant challenges, including ensuring continued synergy between the Nigerian Air Force and ground troops by providing adequate air support during operations. The new Chief is also expected to build on his predecessor’s innovative strides, particularly in infrastructure and platform maintenance. Additionally, he will likely focus on maintaining the Nigerian Air Force’s strong Civil-Military Relations, an area where his predecessor achieved notable success.
Challenges and Modernization
Today, the NAF faces a number of domestic challenges which continue to undermine stability within Nigeria and the region as a whole. Some of these threats include the ongoing conflict against the jihadist rebel group, Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria, which has been in effect since July 2009. Likewise, Nigeria has been engaged in a long-running anti-piracy campaign in the Niger Delta, which has threatened the vital petroleum industry in the country, which is the source of 90% of Nigeria's exports and 35% of the government's revenue.
Compounding this state of affairs is the role corruption plays in the ongoing attempts to strengthen the armed forces. In spite of these challenges to its operational readiness, the Nigerian Armed Forces have committed to a number of wide-ranging modernization programs to bolster the discipline and firepower of its troops. This includes the acquisition of new armored vehicles, combat aircraft and aerial reconnaissance drones, and the refurbishing of naval vessels, which had suffered from prolonged periods of poor or minimal maintenance.
'Warrior today need to master 3 levels of warfare -tactical, operational & strategic in all domains'
Historical Context
The origin of the Nigerian Armed Forces lies in the elements of the Royal West African Frontier Force, that became Nigerian when independence was granted in 1960. Shortly after its formation, the NAF was engaged in combat operations against the secessionist state of Biafra, during the Nigerian Civil War from 1967 to 1970. At this point, the Nigerian military ballooned in strength from 85,000 personnel in 1967 to more than 250,000 troops by the war's end.
In the years following the civil war, the Nigerian Armed Forces were halved in size from its post-war height to approximately 125,000 men. The great expansion of the military during the civil war further entrenched the existing military hold on Nigerian society, carried over from the first military regime. In doing so, it played an appreciable part in reinforcing the military's nearly first-among-equals status within Nigerian society, and the linked decline in military effectiveness.
Olusegun Obasanjo, who by 1999, had become president, bemoaned the fact in his inaugural address that year: "... Professionalism has been lost...".
Peacekeeping Operations
That policy statement did not deter Nigeria under Generals Ibrahim Babangida in 1990 and Sani Abacha in 1997, from sending ECOMOG peacekeeping forces under the auspices of ECOWAS into Liberia and later Sierra Leone, when the civil wars broke out in those countries. In October 2004, the Nigerian troops were deployed to Darfur, Sudan, to spearhead an African Union force, to stop the genocide in Darfur. Nigeria has contributed more than 20,000 troops/police to various UN missions since 1960.
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