Nigerian Military Ranks – Army, Navy, And Airforce

This is a detailed guide on the Nigerian Military ranks.

In this post, I will provide you with information regarding the Nigerian Military, their ranks, and their leadership.

For the start, read the following section in brief to know more about the Nigerian Military.

The Nigerian Military

The Nigeria Military is also the Nigeria Armed Forces.

And it comprises three arms, the Army, the Navy, and the Airforce.

The Nigerian Armed Forces originated from the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF).

It became a Nigerian Force when the country gained its independence in 1960.

Four years before independence in 1956, the Nigeria battalion in the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF) was given a new name.

The regiment was named Nigerian Military Forces.

The Nigeria military is popular and respected in west Africa and in Africa as a whole.

The military is accredited with high discipline value, one of the factors that have earned it respect among many countries.

When you talk of the Nigeria Military, many heads will in respect.

The Roles Of The Nigerian Military Forces

Remember that the Nigeria Military Forces combines the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy, and the Nigerian Airforce.

They are a force that keeps Nigeria strongly together.

The respect they have earned abroad is also vibrant at home in Nigeria.

Some of their duties in the country include:

The Nigerian military force is tasked with the responsibility of defending citizens from external aggression.

They are responsible for Maintaining Nigeria’s territorial integrity.

They secure Nigerian land, sea, and air borders from violations.

The Nigerian Military Forces act in restoring order when called upon to do so by the President who is the commander-in-chief.

They also perform other functions as may be prescribed by the act of the National Assembly.

The Tiers Of The Nigerian Military

I have mentioned the tiers of the Nigerian Military earlier.

But on a broader note, the Nigerian Military is made of three main tiers which are as follows:

  • Nigerian Air force
  • Nigerian Army
  • Nigerian Navy
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It is worthy of note that the Police Force is also a force in Nigeria, but they are not a part of the Nigerian Military Force.

The Nigerian Military Ranks

The Nigerian Military Force ranking order splits the forces into two categories.

The first category is called commissioned officers and they call the other category the non-commissioned officers.

As a commissioned officer, it implies that such an officer has grown to the senior rankings of the force.

The non-commissioned officers, on the other hand, imply that such an officer is a junior officer and is still in the low rankings of the force.

The Nigerian Military has fought and prevailed in several battles and wars.

One of the most popular is the Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970.

They also fought in Congo Crisis, the Nigerian-Cameroon border conflict, the Liberian war, the Sierra Leone war, the Malian conflict, and Boko Haram Insurgency.

The Leadership of the Nigerian military presently includes:

  • President Muhammadu Buhari (Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces)
  • Bashir Salihi Magashi (Defence Minister )
  •  General Lucky Irabor (Chief of Defence Staff)
  • Lieutenant General Attahiru Ibrahim (Chief of Army Staff)
  • Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo (Chief of Navy Staff)
  • Isiaka Oladayo Amao (Chief of Air Staff)

The Nigerian Air Force And their Ranking

The Nigerian Air Force started out in those days as a transport unit with aircrew being trained in Canada, Ethiopia, and Pakistan.

The Forces were initially not able to combat sufficiently until the year 1956 when a number of MiG-17 aircraft were presented by the Soviet Union in 1966.

In 1964, the Nigerian Airforce became officially established having its technical assistant from West Germany.

In the year 2007, the strength of the Nigerian Air Force had grown to 10,000.

It had been capacitated and it flies transport, trainer, helicopter, and fighter aircraft.

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The two Air Force Military institutions namely:

The Air Force Military School, Jos, and the Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna, are both sponsored by the Nigerian Air Force.

The Nigerian Air force Ranks

Like I pointed out earlier in this post, the ranks in the Nigerian Air force are categorized into two: the commissioned officers and the non-commissioned officers.

Nigerian Air force Ranks for commissioned Officers

The commissioned officers (which is the senior category) of the Nigerian Air force consist of 11 ranks in total.

The ranks are as follows:

  • Marshal of the Nigerian Air force.
  • Air Chief Marshal
  • Air Marshal
  • Air Vice-Marshal
  • Air Commodore
  • Group Captain
  • Wing Commander
  • Squadron Leader
  • Flight Lieutenant
  • Flying Officer
  • Pilot Officer
The Nigerian Air force Ranks for non-commissioned Officers

The non-commissioned officers (the junior category) of the Nigerian Air force consist of 9 ranks.

The ranks are as follows:

  • Air Warrant Officer
  • Master Warrant Officer
  • Warrant Officer
  • Flight Sergeant
  • Sergeant
  • Corporal
  • Lance Corporal
  • Aircraftman
  • Recruit

The Nigerian Navy And their Rankings

The Nigerian Navy (NN) is the branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces that mans the sea territories of Nigeria.

The Nigerian Navy has a command structure that comprises the Naval Headquarters in Abuja, three operational commands that have their headquarters in Lagos, Calabar, and Bayelsa.

The Nigerian Navy (NN)  has training facilities spread across the country, but have the training command’s headquarters in Lagos State.

The bases of the Nigerian Navy has severely divisions.

This division of base of operation includes:

  • Five operational bases
  • Five forward operational bases (with two more soon to come on stream)
  • Two dockyards. Which are in Lagos State and Rivers State (Portharcourt).
  • Two fleets. These are so based in Lagos State and I’m cross river state (Calabar).

The Nigerian Navy Ranks

Navy ranks in Nigeria is still in the two categories of the commissioned officers and the non-commissioned officers.

The Nigerian Navy Ranks for Commissioned Officers

The Nigerian navy commissioned officers consist of 12 different ranks.

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These are listed as follows:

  • Admiral of the Fleet
  • Admiral
  • Vice-Admiral
  • Rear Admiral Commodore
  • Captain
  • Commander
  • Lieutenant Commander
  • Lieutenant
  • Sub-Lieutenant
  • Acting Sub-Lieutenant
  • Mid-Shipman
The Navy Ranking for Non-Commissioned Officers.

The Nigerian navy non-commissioned officers are consist of 7 different ranks.

The ranks are:

  • Warrant Chief Petty Officer
  • Chief Petty Officer
  • Petty Officer
  • Leading Rating
  • Able Rating
  • Ordinary Rating
  • Trainee

The Nigerian Army And Their Rankings

The Nigerian Army is the largest of the Nigeria Military Force.

They oversee the land territories and borders of the country.

The Nigerian Military has several divisions and the formations of this division include:

  • The 1st Division.
  • The 2nd Division.
  • The 3rd Armored Division.
  • The 81st Division.
  • The 82nd Division.
  • The 8th Division.
  • The 7th Division.
  • The 6th Division.

The last three divisions on this list (the 8th, 7th, and 6th divisions are all newly formed).

The Nigerian Army Ranks

Nigeria Army Ranks is also categorized into the commissioned officers and the non-commissioned officers like the first two tiers of the Nigerian Military Force.

Nigerian Army Ranks for Commissioned Officers

The Nigerian Army commissioned officers consists of 11 ranks which are:

  • Field Marshal
  • General
  • Lieutenant General
  • Major General
  • Brigadier General
  • Colonel
  • Lieutenant Colonel
  • Major Captain
  • Lieutenant
  • Second Lieutenant
The Nigerian Army Ranking for Non-Commissioned Officers

The Nigerian army of non-commissioned officers are made up of 8 ranks which are:

  • Warrant Officer Class I
  • Warrant Officer Class II
  • Staff Sergeant
  • Sergeant
  • Corporal
  • Lance-corporal
  • Private
  • Recruit

That is all on the Nigerian Military Ranks.

Hope this was helpful?

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