Major General Faruk Yahaya: What we know about Nigeria’s new chief of army staff

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday named Major-General Farouk Yahaya as the new chief of army staff.

Yahaya, a major general, will replace the deceased Attahiru Ibrahim with immediate effect.

The appointment comes six days after Attahiru and ten other military personnel died in an air crash while on an official trip to Kaduna State.

As Yahaya begins his reign as the leader of Nigerian troops, here are a few things we know about him.

The new Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Major General Faruk Yahaya was born on 5 January 1966 in Sifawa, Bodinga Local Government Area of Sokoto state.

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

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

Notable among the appointments held by the new COAS were 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). He was also Director Manpower at the Army Headquarters, Military Secretary, Army Headquarters and General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division of the Nigerian Army.

Until he was appointed the COAS, Maj Gen Faruk Yahaya was the Theatre Commander Operation HADIN KAI, responsible for Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Insurgency operations in North-East Nigeria.

The new COAS is a recipient 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.