President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the expansion of the Nigerian Army from eight to 12 divisions and authorised the recruitment of 28,000 additional personnel as part of a major overhaul aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture and enhancing military operations nationwide.
The Presidency said the expansion is designed to improve command and control, decentralise operational decision-making, strengthen border security, protect critical national infrastructure and boost counter-insurgency and internal security operations.
Under the new structure, four additional divisions will be established in Makurdi (5 Division), Ilorin (9 Division), Jalingo (10 Division) and Benin City (83 Division), complementing existing formations across the country. The new arrangement will see the Army operate 12 strategically located divisions covering all states of the federation.
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Implementation will be carried out in two phases. The first phase, involving the establishment of the 5, 9 and 10 Divisions and the reorganisation of existing formations, is scheduled for completion by September 2026, while the second phase, which includes the 83 Division, is expected to be completed by December 2026.
1. 1 Division Headquarters – Kaduna (Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Jigawa States) 2. 2 Division Headquarters – Ibadan (Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo States) 3. 3 Division Headquarters – Jos (Plateau, Bauchi and Gombe States) 4. 5 Division Headquarters – Makurdi (Benue, Nasarawa and Kogi States) 5. 6 Division Headquarters – Port Harcourt (Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States) 6. 7 Division Headquarters – Maiduguri (Borno and Yobe States) 7. 8 Division Headquarters – Sokoto (Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States) 8. 9 Division Headquarters – Ilorin (Kwara and Niger States) 9. 10 Division Headquarters – Jalingo (Taraba and Adamawa States) 10. 81 Division Headquarters – Lagos (Lagos and Ogun States) 11. 82 Division Headquarters – Enugu (Enugu, Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi and Imo States) 12. 83 Division Headquarters – Benin City (Edo, Delta and Bayelsa States).
President Tinubu also commended the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Ibrahim Shuaibu, and personnel of the Nigerian Army for their service, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to investing in military modernisation, troop welfare and operational readiness.
