As the Nigerian Army day celebration holds in Imo State from June 29 to July 6, 2022, Clariform investigations have unearthed some issues about the Army that could be of interest to our readers.

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Our look at some of these issues was informed by the endless cries of marginalization from certain quarters in the country.

Our investigation was also necessitated by the current insecurity across the country, and especially the surge of the worse of this spate of killings, kidnappings and all natures of criminal activities in the South East where the Nigerian Army are preparing to celebrate its 159 years of existence at the Nigerian Army Day celebration (NADCEL) in Owerri, Imo State.

Investigation shows that Imo State and the entire South East where the Army will be gathering for their celebration is a place where there is hardly any presence of the Nigerian Army in terms of developmental institutions and military endowments of any type.

The best you have of their (Nigeria Army) impact in the South East is the presence of soldiers on the streets of Owerri and all towns in the region, where they have been accused of harassments, abduction and murder of defenseless civilians.

So, as the Army commences their Nigerian Army Day celebration (NADCEL) 2022 in Owerri, Imo State, let us look at some issues like the distributions of power in the Nigerian Army, military installation and formations of the Army.

Chiefs of the Nigerian Army

Following is a chronological list of officers holding the position of General Officer Commanding (GOC) or Chief of Army Staff (COAS) from 1956 till date.

Officer	Title	Period Served	Remarks
Maj Gen Kenneth G. Exham	GOC	1956–1959	Duke of Wellington’s Regiment
Maj Gen Norman Foster	GOC	1960–1962
Maj Gen John Alexander Mackenzie	GOC	1963	2nd Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers
Maj Gen Sir Christopher Welby-Everard	GOC	1963–1965	Last British GOC
Maj Gen Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi	GOC	1965–1966	Later military ruler
Lt Col Yakubu Gowon FSS	COAS	January 1966 – July 1966	Later military ruler
Lt Col Joseph Akahan OFR FSS	COAS	May 1967 – May 1968
Maj Gen Hassan Katsina rcds psc	COAS	May 1968 – January 1971
Maj Gen David Ejoor	COAS	January 1971 – July 1975
Lt Gen Theophilus Danjuma	COAS	July 1975 – October 1979
Lt Gen Ipoola Alani Akinrinade CFR FSS	COAS	October 1979 – April 1980
Lt Gen Gibson Jalo CFR FSS JSS	COAS	April 1980 – October 1981
Lt Gen Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi CFR FSS	COAS	October 1981 – October 1983
Maj Gen Ibrahim Babangida	COAS	January 1984 – August 1985	Later military ruler
Lt Gen Sani Abacha GCON, DSS mni	COAS	August 1985 – August 1990	Last military ruler
Lt Gen Salihu Ibrahim FSS FHWC	COAS	August 1990 – September 1993
Lt Gen Aliyu Gusau Mohammed DSS rcds	COAS	September 1993 – November 1993
Maj Gen Chris Alli CRG DSS ndc psc(+)	COAS	November 1993 – August 1994??
Maj Gen Alwali Kazir DSS Usawc psc(+)	COAS	August 1994 – March 1996
Lt Gen Ishaya Bamaiyi DSS Usawc psc(+)	COAS	March 1996 – May 1999
Lt Gen Victor Malu DSS mni fwc psc	COAS	May 1999 – April 2001
Lt Gen Alexander Ogomudia	COAS	April 2001 – June 2003	Later Chief of Defence Staff
Lt Gen Martin Luther Agwai	COAS	June 2003 – June 2006	Later Force Commander of the UNAMID
Lt Gen Owoye Andrew Azazi	COAS	1 June 2006 – May 2007	Later Chief of Defence Staff
Lt Gen Luka Yusuf	COAS	June 2007 – August 2008
Lt Gen Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau	COAS	August 2008 – September 2010
Lt Gen Onyabor Azubuike Ihejirika	COAS	September 2010 – January 2014
Lt Gen Kenneth Minimah	COAS	January 2014 – July 2015
Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai	COAS	July 2015 – January 2021	Commander Multinational Joint Task Force (May 2015 – January 2021)
Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru	COAS	January 2021 – May 2021 ( died in office)
Lt Gen Farouk Yahaya	COAS	27 May 2021 – till date

Formations of the Nigerian Army

Current formations of the Army across the country and their headquarters includes the following:

Mechanized Division — The headquarter is in Kaduna, the capital city of Kaduna State, in Nigeria`s North-West region.

Mechanized Division — The headquarter is in Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State, in Nigeria`s South-West region.

Armoured Division — The headquarter is in Jos, the capital city of Platue State, in the Nigeria`s Middle belt region.

Amphibious Division — The headquarter is in Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers State, in Nigeria`s South-South region.

Infantry Division (OP-LD) — The headquarter is in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State, in Nigeria`s North-East region.

Task Force Division — The headquarter is in Sokoto, the capital city of Sokoto State, in Nigeria`s North-West region.

Division (Amphibious) — The headquarter is in Lagos, Nigeria`s commercial capital, in Nigeria`s South-West region.

Composite Division (Airborne and Amphibious) — The headquarter is in Enugu, former Biafran capital, in Nigeria`s South-East region.

Guards Brigade — The headquarter is in Abuja, Nigeria`s political capital, in Nigeria`s Northern region, even though considered as central and administered separately.

Major military installations and locations

The following are the locations of Nigerian Army military installations in the country:

Ribadu Cantonment (Kaduna)

Adaka Boro Barracks (Elele)

Giwa Barracks (Maiduguri)

Maimalari Barracks (Maiduguri)

Fort Nagwamatse (Kontagora)

Obienu Barracks (Bauchi)

Ejoor Barracks (Effurun)

Camp Wu Bassey (Abuja)

Fort IBB (formerly Fort Obasanjo) in Abuja

Sani Abacha Barracks (Abuja)

Yakubu Gowon Barracks (Abuja)

Aguiyi-Ironsi Barracks (Abuja)

Gado Nasko Barracks (Abuja)

Mogadishu Barracks (Abuja)

Therefore, as the Nigerian Army gathers in the city of Owerri for their one-week long Nigerian Army Day celebration (NADCEL) 2022 celebration, much of what will be left in the state when they are gone, will be soldiers on the streets and not much of developmental projects or institutions that may in anyway impact the life of the people in the region.