The Army Council has approved the promotion of 105 senior officers of the Nigerian Army to the ranks of Major General and Brigadier General, in what officials described as a strategic move to bolster national defence leadership.
The announcement was conveyed in a statement by Lieut. Col. Appolonia Anele, Acting Director, Army Public Relations. she said the approval, granted on Thursday, 27 November 2025, elevated 28 Brigadier Generals to Major General and promoted 77 Colonels to Brigadier General.
Among those promoted to Major General are Brigadier General O. Adegbe of the Defence Intelligence Agency; Brigadier General S. M. Uba, Director of Defence Information; Brigadier General R. E. Hedima, Acting Chief of Military Intelligence (Army); and Brigadier General R. T. Utsaha, Deputy Director, Defence Operations.
Others include Brigadier General A. M. Umar, Commandant of the Warrant Officer Academy; Brigadier General S. Sulaiman, Deputy Military Secretary (Army); Brigadier General I. O. Bassey, Director of the Nigerian Army Operations Centre; and Brigadier General C. A. Ekeator of the Nigerian Army School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering.
Additional beneficiaries are Brigadier General S. Y. Yakasai, Acting Director of Procurement in the Office of the Chief of Army Staff; Brigadier General W. L. Nzidee of the Army Headquarters Department of Logistics; Brigadier General S. A. Emmanuel of the Nigerian Army Signals; Brigadier General S. S. Tilawan, Acting Commander, Sector 3 Joint Task Force North-East Operation Hadin Kai; Brigadier General M. O. Agi of the TETFUND Desk at the Nigerian Defence Academy; and Brigadier General I. M. Abbas, Commander 34 Brigade. Brigadier General Z. A. Saidu was promoted posthumously.
Those elevated from Colonel to Brigadier General include Colonels Y. Ibrahim of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja; N. N. Gambo of the Department of Civil Military Affairs; A. Saidu of the Nigerian Army Finance Corps; A. Ali of Army Headquarters Garrison; and I. Waziri from the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff.
Others are Colonels M. M. Sani of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji; A. A. Alkali of the Nigerian Army Dog Centre; A. O. Ndah of the Department of Army Training; I. B. Sheriff of Headquarters 9 Brigade; K. R. Apata of the Provost Group; M. K. Akpuogwu of Operation Whirl Stroke; and P. U. Nnaji of the Nigerian Army Operations Monitoring Support Team.
Also promoted are Colonels M. T. Nagudu of the Nigerian Army Armour School; K. O. Bukoye, Commander 401 Special Forces Brigade; O. Adole of the Nigerian Army Medical Corps; J. A. Ikagba of 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital; D. C. Ibeh of 8 Division Medical Services and Hospital; G. S. Chohwore and O. G. Okoye of 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital; and Y. K. Audu of Operation Hadin Kai, among others.
Congratulating the newly promoted officers, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, urged them to deepen their professional commitment and justify the confidence reposed in them. He called for exemplary leadership, innovation, and swift operational responses to Nigeria’s evolving security challenges.
He further reminded the officers of their oath to defend the territorial integrity of the nation and charged them to maintain absolute loyalty to the Constitution.
