The 82nd (Airborne and Amphibious) Division is a

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

. It has an area of responsibility covering Southern Nigeria, near the borders with

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. It is numbered in honor of the 82nd (West Africa) Division during the Burma campaign.

History

It was established in 1975. General

Mamman Jiya Vatsa Mamman Jiya Vatsa (3 December 1940 – 5 March 1986) was a Nigerian general and poet who served as Minister of the Federal Capital Abuja, and was a member of the Supreme Military Council On 5 March 1986, he was executed by the military re ...

established the doctrinal basis for the establishment of the 82nd Division, including its naming after the

82nd West African Division The 82nd (West African) Division was formed under British control during the Second World War. It took part in the later stages of the Burma Campaign and was disbanded in Burma between May and September 1946. History Formation The inspirat ...

Structure

The division included: * Headquarters (

Enugu Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Énú ...

) * 7 Amphibious Battalion * 93 Amphibious Battalion (

Takum Takum is a Local Government Area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Takum, it is created out of Wukari local government in June 1976, at . Takum borders the Republic of Cameroon in the south, Ussa Local Government to the ...

) * 146 Amphibious Battalion * 245 Reconnaissance Battalion * 2 Amphibious Brigade ( Port Harcourt) ** 1 Amphibious Battalion ** 20 Amphibious Battalion ** 40 Motorized Battalion * 13 Motorized Brigade (

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and cre ...

) ** 4 Motorized Battalion ** 103 Amphibious Battalion (Garikki) * 34 Field Artillery Brigade (

Obinze Obinze is a community in southeastern Nigeria, located near the city of Owerri, Imo State under the supervision of Owerri West Local Government Area. The community Obinze had six clans/villages but a clan known as Umuanunu got their own autonom ...

) ** 341 Field Artillery Regiment ** 342 Field Artillery Regiment ** 343 Field Artillery Regiment *

Commanders

Zamani Lekwot Zamani Lekwot (born 19 July 1944) in Jankasa, is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the military governor of Rivers State, Nigeria from July 1975 to July 1978 during the military administration of Generals Murtala Muhammed and Ol ...

(?) *

Oladipo Diya Donaldson Oladipo Diya (born 3 April 1944) is a Nigerian general who served as Chief of the General Staff, (''de facto'' Vice President of Nigeria) under military head of state General Sani Abacha from 1994 until his arrest for treason in 1997. ...

(1985-1991) * Major General Felix Mujakperuo (1996-1998)

References

{{Army of Nigeria units Military units and formations of Nigeria Military in Africa Nigerian Army