Nigerian Defence Academy


The Nigerian Defence Academy is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria, that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration of training at the Nigerian Defence Academy is five years.

History

The NDA was established in February 1964 as a reformation of the British run Royal Military Forces Training College, which had been renamed the Nigerian Military Training College on independence. The military institution trains the officer corps of the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force.
The initial class had only 62 cadets, and the trainers were mostly officers in the Indian Army. The Nigerian National Defence Academy follows the pattern of similar NDA in Khadakwasla, Pune, India. The first commandant of NDA was Indian Army Brigadier M.R Verma.
The NDA grew to an all Nigerian training staff only in 1978. In 1981, it began bilateral training of foreign militaries. In 1985, the academy commenced offering undergraduate programmes to Military Officers In Training and now also currently offers post graduate studies both for Msc and Ph.D. for both military and civilian students alike.
The central mission remains the training of young officer cadets in the 5 year "Regular Combatant Course" in which cadets are groomed in Military, Academic and Character development to instill discipline and leadership skills according to global best practices, culminating in the award of a bachelor's degree and presidential commissioning into the rank of second lieutenant for Army cadets or equivalent in the Navy and Air Force for respective cadets. Until 2011 this course used to be exclusively for males, the first set of female cadets commenced training in September 2011. As of 2019, its total cadet class is around 2500.

Organization

Administration

The current Commandant is Major General Oluyemi Olatoye. He took over from Major General Abdul Khalifah Ibrahim in October 2025.

Military structure

  • Headquarters
  • Directorate of Military Training
  • Directorate of Administration
  • * NDA Hospital
  • * NDA Provost Command
  • * Administration Battalion
  • * 92 MIR
  • * 37 NDA Demonstration Battalion
  • * NDA Band
  • * Religious Affairs Department
  • * Legal Department
  • * Civilian Personnel Unit
  • * NDA National Youth Service Corps
  • Directorate of ICT
  • Directorate of Logistics
  • Cadet Brigade
  • Directorate of Coordination
  • Directorate of Finance

Academics

Academic structure

  • School of Postgraduate Studies
  • Undergraduate Admission
  • Postgraduate Admission
  • Faculty of Engineering
  • Faculty of Science
  • Faculty of Art and Social Science
  • Faculty of Military Science
  • Faculty of Management Science

Academic Library

Nigerian Defence Academy Library is the main Library that support both teaching and military training. The library acquired and developed information resources that meet the information needs of cadets, faculty members, officers and civilians staff. The academy library was launched at the end of 1963 to facilitate and enhance effective learning. The Library was finally moved to the permanent site on the 16 of June 2009 for effective teaching and learning to meet the objectives and the current Academy Librarian is Umar Lawal.

Research Elements

Student life

Cadet Brigade

The Cadet Brigade is one of the main organs of the NDA. There are a total of 2,990 Regular Combatant cadets in the Academy and 12 allied cadets from Burkina-Faso, Sierra Leone, Republic of Congo, Cameroon and Liberia. The Brigade is commanded by an Army officer and is designated as the Cadets Brigade Commander. The CB comprises the following:
  • Headquarters
  • Mogadishu Battalion
  • Dalet Battalion
  • Abyssinia Battalion
  • Burma Battalion
  • Ashanti Battalion
  • Colito Battalion
  • Counseling Unit
  • Preparatory Wing
  • Valiant Magazine Office

NDA Band

The NDA Band is responsible for the provision of military music at regimental occasions such as POP, beating the retreat, dinner nights as well as dance band for social gatherings like wedding ceremonies, mess activities or as the circumstances dictate. The NDA Band headed by an Assistant Director of Music.

Commandants

Below is the chronological list of NDA Commandants:
  1. Brigadier M.R. Varma
  2. Major General David Ejoor
  3. Major General Robert Adeyinka Adebayo
  4. Major General Eyo Okon Ekpo
  5. Brigadier Illiya Bisalla
  6. Brigadier Gibson Jalo
  7. Brigadier E.S. Armah
  8. Brigadier Joseph Garba
  9. Brigadier Zamani Lekwot
  10. Brigadier Abdullahi Shelleng
  11. Major General Paul Tarfa
  12. Major General Peter Adomokai
  13. Lieutenant General Salihu Ibrahim
  14. Lieutenant General Garba Duba
  15. Lieutenant General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau
  16. Lieutenant General Mohammed Balarabe Haladu
  17. Air Marshal Al-Amin Daggash
  18. Major General Bashir Salihi Magashi
  19. Major General Thaddeus Ashei
  20. Major General Okon Edet Okon
  21. Major General Patrick Ademu Akpa
  22. Lieutenant General Abel Akale
  23. Major General Harris Dzarma
  24. Major General Mamuda Yerima
  25. Major General Emeka Onwuamaegbu
  26. Major General Muhammad Inuwa Idris
  27. Major General Mohammed Tasiu Ibrahim
  28. Major General Adeniyi Oyebade
  29. Major General Jamil Sarham
  30. Major General Sagir Yaro
  31. Major General Ibrahim Manu Yusuf
  32. Major General John Ochai
  33. Major General Abdul Khalifah Ibrahim
  34. Major General Oluyemi Olatoye

Alumni