1st Division (Nigeria)

The 1st Division is a formation of the Nigerian Army, which traces its history to 1967. It was established during the Nigerian civil war and is charged with securing its Area of Responsibility (AOR) covering the North Western flank of Nigeria and also ensuring that the borders located in its AOR are secured. The division is a mechanized infantry with affiliated combat support and combat service support units.^[1]

In August–September 1967, 1 Area Command at Kaduna was redesignated 1 Infantry Division, and 2 Division was formed under Colonel Murtala Mohammed.^[2]

"At the end of the Civil War, the three divisions of the army were reorganised into four divisions, with each controlling territories running from North to South in order to deemphasise the former regional structure. Each division thus had access to the sea thereby making triservice cooperation and logistic support easier. This deployment formula was later abandoned in favour of the present assignment of sectors to the divisions. Thus 1 Division with HQ at Kaduna is allocated the North West sector; 2 Division with HQ at lbadan South West sector, 3 Division with HQ at Jos North East sector and 82 Division with HQ at Enugu South East sector."

Division headquarters remains in Kaduna in the north-west.^[3]

Divisional components

Other formations of the division include the 3rd Brigade (Kano), 41 Division Engineers, a signals formation of brigade size, and the 31st Artillery Brigade.^[4] THe existence of 3rd Brigade at Kano was corroborated by a May 2015 report of 1,000 soldiers dismissed "for allegedly disobeying orders during onslaughts against Boko Haram militants in the North-east."^[5]

Commanders

• Col M. Shuwa JSS Aug 67- Sep 69^[6]
• Brig I.D. Bisalla Psc Sep 69 - Dec 73
• Brig I.B. Haruna JSS Dec 73 - Jul 75
• Maj Gen I.A. Akinrinade Psc Aug 75 - Jan 78
• Brig D.Y. Bali Psc Jan 78 - Sep 78
• Brig P.A. Eromobor Sep 78 - Sep 79
• Maj Gen G.A. Innih Oct 79 - Apr 80
• Maj Gen D.N. Jemibewon JSS psc mni Jan 80 - Nov 81
• Maj Gen A.D. Aduloju FSS psc mni Jan 81- Aug 83
• Maj Gen H.A. Hananiya FSS psc mni Aug 83 -Jan 84
• Brig J.O. Oni FSS psc mni Jan 84-Sep 85
• Maj Gen P.I. Adomokhai FSS psc mni Sep 85 -Oct 88
• Maj Gen M.S. Sami FSS psc mni Oct 88-Jan 90
• Maj Gen I.O.S Nwachukwu GCMG psc mni LLD Jan 90-Sep 90
• Maj Gen A.A. Abubakar FSS psc mni Sep 90-Nov 91
• Brig Gen A.M. Daku FSS psc mni Nov 91-Jan 93
• Brig Gen J.N. Shagaya FSS NSS psc rcds Jan 93 - Sep 93
• Brig Gen MC Ali GRG(H) FSS MSS psc (+) ndc Msc Sep 93 - Dec 93
• Brig Gen AJ Kazir FSS MSS psc (+) uswc Dec 93 - Aug 94
• Brig Gen A.A. Abdullahi DSS psc (+) rcds mni Sep 94 - Apr 96
• Brig Gen M.O. Sule DSS psc mni Apr 96 - Jul 96
• Maj Gen M.O. Sule DSS psc mni Jul 96-Dec 96
• Maj Gen A.S. Mukhtar FSS MSS psc (+) LLB (Hons) BL mni Dec 96-Jun 99
• Maj Gen A.O. Ogomudia DSS MSS Fss psc (+) fwc Msc Con 1Jul 99 - Apr 01
• Brig Gen D.R.A. Ndefo FSS MSS DSS psc (+) fwc May 1- Dec 01
• Maj Gen D.R.A. Ndefo FSS MSS DSS psc (+) fwc Dec 01 - Aug 02
• Maj Gen S.A. Asemota DSS psc (+) fwc MSc Aug 02-Jan 05
• Maj Gen O.A. Azazi DSS psc (+) fwc Jan 05- Jul 06
• Maj Gen L.O. Jokotola Jul 06 - 2007
• Maj Gen M.B. Obi
• Maj Gen K.A. Role 2008 - 2010
• Maj Gen Shoboiki 2010 - 2012
• Maj Gen G.A. Wahab 2012 - 2014
• Maj Gen K.C. Osuji 2014–2015
• Maj Gen A. Oyebade 2015- till date

Owoye Andrew Azazi was appointed the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, Nigerian Army in January 2005, and subsequently appointed Chief of Army Staff (COAS) in June 2006.

References

1. ↑ "NIGERIAN ARMY 1 DIVISION". Nigerian Army. Retrieved 16 July 2015. 
2. ↑ General Olunsegun Obasanjo, 'My Command: An Account of the Nigerian Civil War 1967-70,' Heinemann, Ibadan/London/Nairobi, p.18 (Via Joint Services Command and Staff College Library)
3. ↑ Army Games Begin in Abeokuta
4. ↑ Ravi Rikhye, Concise World Armies 2012, Orbat.com.
5. ↑ "Army Sacks 1,000 Soldiers Over Boko Haram,", 26 May 2015
6. ↑ http://www.army.mil.ng/divisions, accessed October 2013.