| Chief of Defence Staff | |
|---|---|
 Standard of the chief of defence staff | |
since 30 October 2025 | |
| Ministry of Defence | |
| Abbreviation | CDS |
| Member of |
|
| Reports to | Minister of Defence |
| Seat | Defence Headquarters, Abuja |
| Appointer | President of Nigeria with advice and consent fromSenate |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Nigeria |
| Formation | 1979 (46 years ago) (1979) |
| First holder | Ipoola Alani Akinrinade |
| Website | Official website |
Thechief of defence staff (CDS) is the head of theNigerian Armed Forces and the most senior uniformed military adviser to theminister of defence and thepresident of Nigeria. The chief of the defence staff is based at theDefence Headquarters, Abuja and works alongside the permanent secretary of defence.
It is occupied by the most seniorcommissioned officer appointed by thepresident of Nigeria. The position was established for the first time under Nigeria's 1979 constitution.
The current chief of defence staff is GeneralOlufemi Oluyede, who succeeded GeneralChristopher Musa in October 2025[1]
The chief of defence staff gives operational directives to the Nigerian Armed Forces through the service chiefs and reports to thecommander-in-chief with administrative supervision of the minister of defence. It is the duty and responsibility of the CDS to formulate and execute policies, programmes towards the highest attainment ofnational security and operational competence of theArmed Forces namely; the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The CDS is assisted by the other service chiefs:
The chiefs have been:[2]
| No. | Portrait | Chief of Defence Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Akinrinade, Ipoola AlaniLieutenant General Ipoola Alani Akinrinade (born 1939) | 15 April 1980 | 2 October 1981 | 1 year, 170 days |  Nigerian Army | – |
| 2 | .jpg) | Jalo, GibsonLieutenant General Gibson Jalo (1939–2000) | 2 October 1981 | 31 December 1983 | 2 years, 90 days | Nigerian Army | – |
| 3 | | Bali, DomkatGeneral Domkat Bali (1940–2020) Defence Minister | 1 January 1984 | August 1990 | 6 years, 212 days | Nigerian Army | – |
| 4 | .jpg) | Abacha, SaniGeneral Sani Abacha (1943–1998) later military ruler | August 1990 | 17 November 1993 | 3 years, 108 days | Nigerian Army | – |
| 5 | | Diya, OladipoLieutenant General Oladipo Diya (1944–2023) Chief of General Staff | 17 November 1993 | 21 December 1997 | 4 years, 34 days | Nigerian Army | – |
| 6 |  | Abubakar, AbdulsalamiMajor General Abdulsalami Abubakar (born 1942) later military ruler | 21 December 1997 | 9 June 1998 | 170 days | Nigerian Army | – |
| 7 |  | Daggash, Al-AminAir Marshal Al-Amin Daggash (born 1942) | 9 June 1998 | 29 May 1999 | 354 days |  Nigerian Air Force | – |
| 8 | | Ogohi, IbrahimAdmiral Ibrahim Ogohi (1948–2024) | 29 May 1999 | 27 June 2003 | 4 years, 29 days |  Nigerian Navy | – |
| 9 | | Ogomudia, AlexanderGeneral Alexander Ogomudia (born 1949) | 27 June 2003 | 1 June 2006 | 2 years, 339 days | Nigerian Army | – |
| 10 | _Martin_L._Agwai_-_Panel_Discussion_-_African_Land_Forces_Summit_-_May_2010.jpg) | Agwai, Martin LutherGeneral Martin Luther Agwai (born 1948) Later Commander of theUNAMID | 1 June 2006 | 25 May 2007 | 358 days | Nigerian Army | – |
| 11 |  | Azazi, Owoye AndrewGeneral Owoye Andrew Azazi (1952–2012) | 25 May 2007 | 20 August 2008 | 1 year, 87 days | Nigerian Army | – |
| 12 | | Dike, PaulAir Chief Marshal Paul Dike (born 1950) | 20 August 2008 | 8 September 2010 | 2 years, 19 days | Nigerian Air Force | – |
| 13 | | Petinrin, OluseyiAir Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin (born 1955) | 8 September 2010 | 4 October 2012 | 2 years, 26 days | Nigerian Air Force | – |
| 14 |  | Ibrahim, OlaAdmiral Ola Ibrahim (born 1955) | 4 October 2012 | 20 January 2014 | 1 year, 108 days | Nigerian Navy | – |
| 15 |  | Badeh, AlexAir Chief Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh (1957–2018) | 20 January 2014 | 21 July 2015 | 1 year, 182 days | Nigerian Air Force | – |
| 16 | .jpg) | Olonisakin, AbayomiGeneral Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin (born 1961) | 21 July 2015 | 29 January 2021 | 5 years, 192 days | Nigerian Army | – |
| 17 | | Irabor, LuckyGeneral Lucky Irabor (born 1965) | 29 January 2021 | 23 June 2023 | 2 years, 145 days | Nigerian Army | – |
| 18 |  | Musa, ChristopherGeneral Christopher Gwabin Musa (born 1967) | 23 June 2023 | 30 October 2025 | 2 years, 129 days | Nigerian Army | – |
| 19 | | OO, OluyedeGeneral Olufemi Oluyede (born 1968) | 30 October 2025 | Incumbent | 28 days | Nigerian Army | – |
