General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Lucky Eluonye Onyenuchea Irabor (born 5 October 1965) 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 ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

and the current Chief of Defence Staff of Nigeria. He was appointed by

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 26 January 2021.

Background

Irabor was born on 5 October 1965 in Aliokpu Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He gained admission into 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 ...

(NDA) Kaduna as a member of the 34 Regular Course in 1983 and was commissioned Second Lieutenant on 28 June 1986 into the Signals Corps 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 ...

. Irabor attended military and civil courses both locally and abroad. He attended

Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji The Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji is a training facility for the Nigerian Armed Forces, including the army, air force and navy. It is near the village of Jaji, Nigeria, about northeast of Kaduna in the Igabi Local Government Area ( ...

(AFCSC) for his Junior Staff Course in 1995 and Ghana Armed Forces Staff College, Teshi, Accra, Ghana for Senior Staff Course in 2000/2001 amongst others. He equally attended the National Defence College in Bangladesh in 2010 and Harvard Kennedy Schools of Government and Executive Education, the USA in 2012 and 2017 respectively. Irabor obtained a bachelor's degree in Engineering from

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal government-owned university that is located in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife ...

and holds two Masters Degrees from

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

and

Bangladesh University of Professionals Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) is the 31st public university of Bangladesh (according to University Grants Commission of Bangladesh), located in Mirpur Cantonment, Dhaka. It is the first public university of Bangladesh to be run by ...

, Dhaka.

Awards

In October 2022, a Nigerian national honour of

Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic The Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) is one of two orders of merit, established by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1963. It is senior to the Order of the Niger. The highest honours where the Grand Commander in the Order of the Federal R ...

(CFR) was conferred on him by President

References

Living people Nigerian generals Obafemi Awolowo University alumni University of Ghana alumni Multinational Joint Task Force Commanders 1965 births {{Nigeria-mil-bio-stub