Meet Maj-General Yahaya, Nigeria’s New COAS
Things to know about the new Army Chief:
1. Major General Farouk Yahaya is of Regular Course 37 of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna.
2. He was born on January 5, 1966 in Sifawa, Bodinga Local Government Area of Sokoto State in the Northwest geo-political zone.
3. Until his appointment, he was the Theatre Commander, Operation HADIN KAI, formerly Operation Lafiya Dole, the Counter-terrorism/Counter-Insurgency military outfit located in the country’s North East region.
4. Yahaya took over from Major General Olusegun Adeniyi, who was redeployed to the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) as Senior Research Fellow.
5. At several times, Major-General Yahaya was also General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army.
6. Yahaya also served as the Commander of 4 Brigade Headquarters of the Nigerian Army.
7. The new COAS duty call also included serving as Military Secretary (MS) Army at the Army Headquarters in Abuja before being appointed as GOC 1 Div in Kaduna
8. He is Nigeria’s 26th Chief of Army Staff (COAS), an office meant for the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army
9. In 2019, Yahaya led Operation CLEAN SWEEP to flush out bandits for Kuduru forest in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area in Kaduna State
Below is the full statement that announced Yahaya’s appointment titled: “PRESIDENT BUHARI APPOINTS NEW CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF”
“The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Mohammadu Buhari has appointed Major General Farouk Yahaya as the new Chief of Army Staff.
“Prior to his appointment, Major General 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.
“Please disseminate this information to the general public through your news medium.
Thank you for your cooperation.”
ONYEMA NWACHUKWU
Brigadier General
Acting Director Defence Information
