The man, Farouk Yahaya

Prior to his appointment, Major General Yahaya was the incumbent Theatre Commander of the Counter-Terrorism/Counter-Insurgency military outfit in the North East, code named Operation Hadin Kai.

 

He took over from Major-General Olusegun Adeniyi as Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole on March 31, 2020, before it was renamed Operation Hadin Kai by late Ibrahim Attahiru last month.

 

He was General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, before his deployment to Operation Hadin Kai.

At several times, he was Military Secretary, (MS) Army at Army headquarters and Brigade Commander, 4 Brigade, Benin, as a Brigadier-General.

The new Chief of Army Staff was born on January 5, 1966, in Sifawa, Bodinga Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

 

He started his cadet training at NDA on September 27, 1985, and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps on September 22,1990.

Major General 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 Minister of Defence, the Commander, Headquarters 4 Brigade and 29 Task Force Brigade (Operation Zaman Lafiya).

 

He was Director, Manpower at Army Headquarters, Military Secretary, Army Headquarters and General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division of the Nigerian Army.

The new COAS is a holder 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 Defence Course (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.