Lieutenant General Ipoola Alani Akinrinade (1980–1981)
Akinrinade was appointed by President Shehu Shagari during the Second Republic. He was one of Nigeria’s most respected senior officers and helped stabilize civil–military relations after years of military rule.
Lieutenant General Gibson Sanda Jalo (1981–1983)
Jalo served under President Shehu Shagari and briefly after the 1983 coup that brought Major General Muhammadu Buhari to power.
General Domkat Yah Bali (1984–1990)
Appointed under General Muhammadu Buhari, Bali continued to serve during General Ibrahim Babangida’s regime. He was also the Minister of Defence and a key member of the Armed Forces Ruling Council.
General Sani Abacha (1990–1993)
Abacha became Chief of Defence Staff during Babangida’s rule and later seized power himself in November 1993, ruling as Nigeria’s Head of State until 1998.
Lieutenant General Oladipo Diya (1993–1997)
Diya served as Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of General Staff under General Sani Abacha. He was also Abacha’s de facto deputy until he was arrested for an alleged coup plot in 1997.
General Abdulsalami Abubakar (1997–1998)
Abubakar briefly served as CDS before succeeding Abacha as Head of State in June 1998. He oversaw Nigeria’s transition to democracy in 1999.
Air Marshal Al-Amin Musa Daggash (1998–1999)
The first and only Air Force officer to serve as CDS, Daggash served under General Abdulsalami Abubakar during the transition to the Fourth Republic.
Admiral Ibrahim Ogohi (1999–2003)
Appointed by President Olusegun Obasanjo, Ogohi was the first Navy officer to hold the position in democratic Nigeria.
Ogomudia, a disciplined and strategic Army officer, also served under President Obasanjo during his second term in office.
General Martin Luther Agwai (2006–2007)
Agwai took over as CDS in the final months of Obasanjo’s administration and helped oversee a professional restructuring of the Armed Forces.
Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike (2008–2010)
Appointed by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Dike was another Air Force officer to hold the position, maintaining balance among service branches.
Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin (2010–2012)
Petinrin served under President Goodluck Jonathan, continuing modernization reforms within the Nigerian Armed Forces.
Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim (2012–2014)
Ibrahim, a naval officer, succeeded Petinrin and served under President Jonathan, focusing on maritime security and counter-piracy operations.
Air Chief Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh (2014–2015)
Badeh also served under President Jonathan, during the height of the Boko Haram insurgency. His tenure ended with the 2015 elections.
General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin (2015–2021)
Appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari, Olonisakin was one of Nigeria’s longest-serving CDS, coordinating joint operations against insurgency and banditry.
General Lucky Eluonye Onyenuchea Irabor (2021–2023)
Irabor served under President Buhari and continued counter-insurgency efforts in the North-East and North-West.
General Christopher Gwabin Musa (2023–2025)
Appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Musa is known for his calm leadership and strategic coordination in national defence and regional stability.
Lieutenant General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede (2025–Present)
Recently appointed by President Bola Tinubu, Oluyede took over from General Musa in October 2025. His tenure marks a continued effort to modernize Nigeria’s Armed Forces and promote inter-service cooperation.
Nollywood actress Destiny Etiko has revealed that she lost ₦5 million after placing a bet during the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, saying the experience has discouraged her from gambling again.
The actress disclosed this in a post shared on her Instagram handle on Monday, shortly after the conclusion of the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.
“First time betting and I lost . Will never try it again. My 5M gone . In fact am done watching football. Anxiety almost killed me,” she wrote.
Etiko, however, did not disclose the particular bet she placed or provide further details about how she lost the money.
Earlier, during the World Cup final, the actress shared a series of updates on her Instagram Story, indicating she was backing Argentina to defeat Spain.
In one post, she wrote, “Argentina all the way. Who can’t wait?”
As the match progressed, she appeared increasingly frustrated with Argentina’s performance, posting, “This ball tough o. Argentina is pissing me off.”
She also praised Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez for keeping the defending champions in the game, writing, “The goal keeper is the savior oo.”
PUNCH Online had reported that Spain defeated defending champions Argentina 1-0 after extra time to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Sunday.
Substitute Ferran Torres scored the decisive goal in the second period of extra time to hand Spain their second World Cup title, 16 years after their maiden triumph in South Africa in 2010.
Argentina played the closing stages with 10 men after midfielder Enzo Fernández was sent off for a second bookable offence, while Spain dominated possession before eventually finding the breakthrough through Torres.
The self-styled Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi, was arrested last Tuesday by the Intelligence Response Team led by Chief Superintendent of Police, Moses Lohor.
It was learnt that Adeyemi was arrested between 11am and 12pm inside a building in the Ijebu-Ijesa area of Osun State.
The suspect’s arrest followed a bench warrant issued against him by a Federal High Court in Abuja after he allegedly failed to appear for arraignment on eight counts.
Giving details of the operation that led to the arrest, a senior police officer in the Osun State Police Command, in an interview with Punch, said Adeyemi’s location was first uncovered in the Aregbe-Fakule area of Osogbo on July 9 after evading tracking by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The police officer said Lohor’s team took over the tracking after the DSS withdrew from the case.
He added that the operatives eventually located Adeyemi in Ilesa and subsequently arrested him on Tuesday morning.
The source said, “The Moses Lohor team were in Osun for surveillance ahead of the August 15 governorship election. They were mapping hotspots and collating other intelligence. As a matter of fact, the Lohor team didn’t report to the Osun State Police Command. They operated from the area commander’s office at Oke-Fia in Osogbo.
“Adeyemi was already on their watch list, but they didn’t act because the case was being handled by the DSS. Adeyemi’s last known location tracked by the DSS was Ibadan, but they couldn’t apprehend him because he regularly switched off his phone.
“A senior police officer from Abuja informed the Lohor team about the DSS withdrawal on Wednesday. Lohor’s team then decided to track Adeyemi’s location on Thursday, July 9. Incidentally, he was located around the Aregbe-Fakule area of Osogbo.
“Luckily for them, late on Monday night, Adeyemi’s location showed he was around Ilesa, and the Lohor team intensified efforts, which led to his arrest on Tuesday morning. The team only informed the Osun State Commissioner of Police when they moved in to make the arrest.”
Adeyemi is reportedly being detained at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, from where he is expected to be arraigned on July 27.
Popular Nollywood actress in the Yoruba movie industry, Biola Fowosere, has opened up about the challenges she faced after her ex-husband left their marriage.
It was reports that Biola, during an interview on African A List, said her ex-husband abandoned her and their children despite not doing anything wrong in the union.
The thespian who broke down in tears during the interview said her ex-husband is the only person she would like to ask why he abandoned his family.
Biola also spoke about battling severe depression after the separation, spending one year and six months in the hospital while struggling to recover emotionally.
According to the movie star, she almost lost her sanity, adding that it has been seven years since they lost contact.
She said, “The only person I’d really want to ask a question is my ex-husband. I’d really like to ask him what I did wrong because I did nothing before he left me and the kids. I want to ask what my children and I did to deserve what he did to us,” she said.
“I spent one year and six months in the hospital battling depression after he left. I almost ran mad. We are not in contact. Since he left, we haven’t seen him. He blocked us seven years ago.”
