Chief of Defence Staff (Nigeria)

Professional head of the Nigerian Armed Forces

Chief of Defence Staff

Standard of the chief of defence staff

Incumbent
General Christopher Gwabin Musa

since 23 June 2023

Ministry of Defence
Abbreviation| CDS
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
Formation| 1979
(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.

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

[edit]

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 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:

* Chief of Army Staff
* Chief of the Naval Staff
* Chief of the Air Staff

## List of Chiefs of Defence Staff

[edit]

The chiefs have been:[2]

No. | Portrait  | Chief of Defence Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| Akinrinade, Ipoola AlaniLieutenant General
Ipoola Alani Akinrinade
(born 1939)| 15 April 1980| 2 October 1981| 1 year, 170 days|  Nigerian Army| –

| Jalo, GibsonLieutenant General
Gibson Jalo
(1939–2000)| 2 October 1981| 31 December 1983| 2 years, 90 days|  Nigerian Army| –

| Bali, DomkatGeneral
Domkat Bali
(1940–2020)
Defence Minister| 1 January 1984| August 1990| 6 years, 212 days|  Nigerian Army| –

| Abacha, SaniGeneral
Sani Abacha
(1943–1998)
later military ruler| August 1990| 17 November 1993| 3 years, 108 days|  Nigerian Army| –

| Diya, OladipoLieutenant General
Oladipo Diya
(1944–2023)
Chief of General Staff| 17 November 1993| 21 December 1997| 4 years, 34 days|  Nigerian Army| –

| Abubakar, AbdulsalamiMajor General
Abdulsalami Abubakar
(born 1942)
later military ruler| 21 December 1997| 9 June 1998| 170 days|  Nigerian Army| –

| Daggash, Al-AminAir Marshal
Al-Amin Daggash
(born 1942)| 9 June 1998| 29 May 1999| 354 days|  Nigerian Air Force| –

| Ogohi, IbrahimAdmiral
Ibrahim Ogohi
(1948–2024)| 29 May 1999| 27 June 2003| 4 years, 29 days|  Nigerian Navy| –

| Ogomudia, AlexanderGeneral
Alexander Ogomudia
(born 1949)| 27 June 2003| 1 June 2006| 2 years, 339 days|  Nigerian Army| –
10|

| Agwai, Martin LutherGeneral
Martin Luther Agwai
(born 1948)
Later Commander of the UNAMID| 1 June 2006| 25 May 2007| 358 days|  Nigerian Army| –
11|

| Azazi, Owoye AndrewGeneral
Owoye Andrew Azazi
(1952–2012)| 25 May 2007| 20 August 2008| 1 year, 87 days|  Nigerian Army| –
12|

| Dike, PaulAir Chief Marshal
Paul Dike
(born 1950)| 20 August 2008| 8 September 2010| 2 years, 19 days|  Nigerian Air Force| –
13|

| Petinrin, OluseyiAir Chief Marshal
Oluseyi Petinrin
(born 1955)| 8 September 2010| 4 October 2012| 2 years, 26 days|  Nigerian Air Force| –
14|

| Ibrahim, OlaAdmiral
Ola Ibrahim
(born 1955)| 4 October 2012| 20 January 2014| 1 year, 108 days|  Nigerian Navy| –
15|

| Badeh, AlexAir Chief Marshal
Alex Sabundu Badeh
(1957–2018)| 20 January 2014| 21 July 2015| 1 year, 182 days|  Nigerian Air Force| –
16|

| Olonisakin, AbayomiGeneral
Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin
(born 1961)| 21 July 2015| 29 January 2021| 5 years, 192 days|  Nigerian Army| –
17|

| Irabor, LuckyGeneral
Lucky Irabor
(born 1965)| 29 January 2021| 23 June 2023| 2 years, 145 days|  Nigerian Army| –
18|

| Musa, ChristopherGeneral
Christopher Gwabin Musa
(born 1967)| 23 June 2023| Incumbent| 2 years, 50 days|  Nigerian Army| –

## References

[edit]

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.

## External links

[edit]

* Chief Defence staff Nigeria

* v
* t
* e

Chiefs of defence staff (CDS) Nigeria

* Alani Akinrinade (1980–1981)
* Gibson Jalo (1981–1983)
* Domkat Bali (1984–1990)
* Sanni Abacha (1990–1993)
* Oladipo Diya (1993–1993)
* Abdulsalami Abubakar  (1993–1998)
* Al-Amin Daggash  (1998–1999)
* Ibrahim Ogohi (1999–2003)
* Alexander Ogomudia (2003–2006)
* Martin Luther Agwai (2006–2007)
* Owoye Andrew Azazi (2007–2008)
* Paul Dike (2008–2010)
* Oluseyi Petinrin  (2010–2012)
* Ola Ibrahim (2012–2014)
* Alex Sabundu Badeh (2014–2015)
* Abayomi Olonisakin (2015–2021)
* Lucky Irabor (2021–2023)
* Christopher Musa (2023–)

* v
* t
* e

Military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies of Nigeria

Military|

* Nigerian Armed Forces
* Nigerian Army
* Chief of Army Staff
* Nigerian Navy
* Chief of Naval Staff
* Nigerian Air Force
* Chief of Air Staff
* Ministry of Defence
* Defence Minister
* Chief of the Defence Staff

Law enforcement|

* Nigeria Police Force
* National Drug Law Enforcement Agency
* Nigerian Mobile Police
* Economic and Financial Crimes Commission

Intelligence|

* State Security Service
* National Intelligence Agency
* Defence Intelligence Agency
* Chief of Defence Intelligence
* Federal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau

* v
* t
* e

Chiefs of defence by country

Chief of Defence

Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* DR Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* Somaliland
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

former|

* Biafra
* Bophuthatswana
* Ciskei
* British Egypt
* Ethiopian Empire
* Rhodesia
* Transkei
* Venda
* Zaire

Americas|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Argentina
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Secretariat of National Defense
* Secretariat of the Navy
* Nicaragua
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Suriname
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Asia|

* Afghanistan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* AJA
* IRGC
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Taiwan
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Timor-Leste
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

former|

* Democratic Kampuchea
* Imperial Japan
* Mengjiang
* Manchukuo
* South Vietnam

Europe|

* Abkhazia
* Albania
* Armenia
* Artsakh
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Georgia
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Moldova
* Monaco
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Northern Cyprus
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* South Ossetia
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Transnistria
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* Vatican

former|

* Austria–Hungary
* Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Independent State of Croatia
* Czechoslovakia
* Prussia
* Imperial Germany
* Nazi Germany
* East Germany
* Ottoman Empire
* Russian Empire
* Republika Srpska
* Republic of Serb Krajina
* Soviet Union
* Yugoslavia

Oceania|

* Australia
* Fiji
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Tonga
* Vanuatu

Supranational|

* European Union
* NATO

former|

* Warsaw Pact

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*[Ref.]: Reference(s)
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