President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Maj.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya as the Chief of Army Staff.
The Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, announced this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
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 January 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 September 27 1985 and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps on September 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.
