Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Faruk Yahaya (born 5 January 1966) is a

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 ...

lieutenant general, who is the Chief of Army Staff of Nigeria, appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

on 27 May 2021 after the death of the former Chief of Army Staff,

Ibrahim Attahiru Ibrahim Attahiru (10 August 1966 – 21 May 2021) was a Nigerian army lieutenant general who served as the Chief of Army Staff from 26 January 2021 to 21 May 2021 when he died in the 2021 NAF Beechcraft B300 King Air 350i crash near Kaduna ...

who died in the Beechcraft King Air 350i plane crash near

Kaduna International Airport Kaduna Airport is an airport serving Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna State in Nigeria. The airport is around northwest of the city. The airport opened in 1982. Kaduna also has an older airport located on the northern edge of the city. The airp ...

Early life

Faruk Yahaya was born on 5 January 1966 in Sifawa, Bodinga Local Government Area of Sokoto State. He is a graduate of the

Nigerian Defence Academy The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration of t ...

, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, and Nigerian Army School of Infantry. He commenced

officer cadet Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Air ...

training on 27 September 1985 and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army Corp of Infantry as a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on 27 December 1990. He holds a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in International Affairs and Diplomacy.

Military career

Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya has attended all the relevant courses commensurate to his career which include, Young Officers Course, Infantry, Company Commanders Course, Infantry and Commanding Officers Course. He also attended Junior Staff Course, Senior Staff Course and National Defence College amongst other, as well as several workshops and Seminars. He has also held several appointments including Command, Staff and Instructional. Notable amongst them are Guards Brigade Garrison Commander, 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 Chief of Staff, Headquarters Joint Task Force Operation PULO SHIELD. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) has served as the Principal General Staff Officer (PGSO) to Honourable Minister of Defence, Commander, 4 Brigade and 29 Task Force Brigade (Operation ZAMAN LAFIYA). He was also Director Manpower at the Army Headquarter, Military Secretary Army Headquarters and General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division of the Nigerian Army Until his appointment as the COAS, Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya was the Theatre Commander ''

Operation HADIN KAI Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

'', responsible for Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency operations in North East Nigeria.

Awards and honours

Faruk Yahaya holds several honours and awards, some of which include, Nigerian Army Medal, Grand Service Star, Passed staff course Dagger, National Defence College (Chile), Field Command Medal of Honour, General Staff Medal of Honour and several other numerous medals, honours and awards. He is happily married and blessed with children.

Personal life

Yahaya is married and has four children.

References

1966 births Chiefs of Army Staff (Nigeria) Nigerian Army officers Nigerian Defence Academy alumni Living people People from Sokoto State {{Nigeria-mil-bio-stub