Major-General Farouk Yahaya appointed as the New Chief of Army Staff

President Muhammadu Buhari has named Major-General Farouk Yahaya as the new Chief of Army Staff. His appointment comes days after the former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Attahiru Ibrahim died in a Kaduna air-crash along with 10 other military officials.

Bashir Ahmad made this known via his personal Twitter page on Thursday, May 27, 2021. He wrote; “Personal Assistant on New Media to @MBuhari, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Major General Farouk Yahaya the newly appointed Chief of Army Staff (COAS). pic.twitter.com/822wmibY4w

— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) May 27, 2021

According to a statement signed and released on Thursday by the military spokesperson, Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu, “Prior to his appointment Maj Gen Yahaya was the General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army and the incumbent Theatre Commander of the Counterterrorism Counter Insurgency military outfit in the North East code-named Operation HADIN KAI”.

Prior to his appointment Maj Gen Yahaya was the General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army and the incumbent Theatre Commander of the Counter terrorism Counter Insurgency military outfit in the North East code named Operation HADIN KAI https://t.co/m0eFzmZX3M

— Nigerian Army (@HQNigerianArmy) May 27, 2021

Here are a few things to know about the new chief army staff, according to his profile shared by the Nigerian Army.

• He was born on 5 January 1966, in Sifawa in the Bodinga Local Government Area of Sokoto state.
• He started his cadet training on 27 September 1985 and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps on 22 September 1990.
• Maj Gen Yahaya has held several appointments including Staff, Instructional and Command.
• He is a member of Regular Course 37.
• He is the 22nd Chief of Army Staff.
• He was also Commander of 4 Brigade Headquarters of the Nigerian Army in Benin, Edo state.
• He served as the Principal General Staff Officer (PGSO) to the Honourable Minister of Defence, the Commander, Headquarters 4 Brigade and 29 Task Force Brigade (Operation Zaman Lafiya).
• He is married and blessed with children.
• He is also a proud holder of several honours and awards, some of which include: Forces Service Star, Meritorious Service Star, Distinguished Service Star, Grand Service Star, Passed staff course (Dagger), National DefenceCourse (Chile), Economic Community of West Africa State Monitoring Group Medal, Command Medal, Field Command Medal, General Operations Medal, Silver Jubilee Medal and Golden Jubilee Medal.