President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Major-General Farouk Yahaya as the new Chief of Army Staff.

His appointment comes days after the immediate past army chief, Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Attahiru died in a Kaduna air-crash along with 10 other military officials.

The Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, announced Yahaya's appointment in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, May 27, 2021.

Prior to his appointment, Yahaya was the General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army and the Theatre Commander of a military counter-terrorism unit in the North East.

Yahaya was born on Jan. 5, 1966 in Sifawa, Bodinga Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

He is a member of the 37 Regular Course of the prestigious Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA); he started his cadet training on Sept. 27 1985 and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps on Sept. 22, 1990.

Yahaya has held several appointments including Staff, Instructional and Command.

Notable among the appointments held by the new COAS are Garrison Commander Headquarters Guards Brigade, Directing Staff at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Deputy Director Army Headquarters Department of Military Secretary, Deputy Director Army Research and Development and the Chief of Staff, Headquarters Joint Task Force Operation Pulo Shield.

He also 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), Director Manpower at the Army Headquarters, Military Secretary, Army Headquarters and General Officer Commanding (GOC) Headquarters 1 Division of the Nigerian Army. (NAN/Channels TV)

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