The Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu on Wednesday approved the postings of General Officers Commanding (GOCs) to lead the new formations and oversee the reworked divisional boundaries.
The move to expand its footprint and command structure, appointing senior officers to lead four newly created divisions is part of a broader reorganisation intended to boost its response to mounting security challenges.
President Bola Tinubu approved the creation of four additional divisions earlier this Month.
Colonel Appolonia Anele, Acting Director of Army Public Relations in a statement said, the changes take effect in phases.
She said new divisions will begin operations once they reach Initial Operational Capability, with a planned ramp-up to Full Operational Capability to ensure continuity and rapid force projection across the country.
Under the new structure, 1 Division in Kaduna will be responsible for Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Jigawa; 2 Division in Ibadan will cover Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo; and 3 Division in Jos will oversee Plateau, Bauchi and Gombe. Newly stood-up 5 Division, based in Makurdi, will assume responsibility for Benue, Nasarawa and Kogi, while 6 Division in Port Harcourt will cover Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River.
7 Division in Maiduguri will handle Borno and Yobe, and 8 Division in Sokoto will retain responsibility for Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara.
Further adjustments place a new 9 Division in Ilorin to cover Kwara and Niger, and a new 10 Division in Jalingo to police border areas in Taraba and Adamawa.
The Army said 81 Division in Lagos will continue to oversee Lagos and Ogun, while 82 Division in Enugu will retain responsibility for Enugu, Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi and Imo.
Headquarters for a newly authorized 83 Division will be in Benin City; that formation is scheduled to activate later in the year to cover Edo, Delta and Bayelsa.
To lead the new formations, the COAS named experienced senior officers to key commands.
Major General Yakubu Yahaya was redeployed from the Joint Task Force (North Central), Operation Savanna Shield, to command 9 Division in Ilorin and to lead Operation Savanna Shield. Major General Chinedu Ralph Nnebeife moved from 2 Division/Sector 3 Joint Task Force (North West), Operation Fansan Yamma, to take command of 10 Division in Jalingo. Major General Moses Gara, previously with Joint Task Force Operation Whirl Stroke, will command 5 Division in Makurdi and assume leadership of the Joint Task Force.
Other postings include Major General Auwalu Mahmuda, moved from the Army Headquarters Directorate of Inspection and Compliance to lead 2 Division in Ibadan.
The army also activated three brigades and assigned commanders: Brig. Gen. A.O. Odubiyi to 11 Brigade in Gboko, Brig. Gen. A.M. Haruna to 29 Brigade in Kainji and Brig. Gen. R.M. Aminu to 10 Brigade in Lafia.
General Shaibu has congratulated the officers and urged them to provide “visionary leadership,” maintain operational momentum and uphold professional standards.
He thanked President Tinubu for supporting the expansion, calling the move a “historic milestone” in the army’s transformation and saying the restructuring will improve command and control, speed deployments and strengthen border security.
NewsQuest reports that analysts had long argued that Nigeria’s sprawling security challenges—from insurgency in the northeast to banditry and communal violence in the northwest and middle belt—demanded a broader and more decentralised army footprint.
The phased activation of the new divisions aims to provide regionalised command, the army said, while allowing time to equip and staff the formations before they reach full operational capacity.
