Nigeria is a big national community which currently counts a long list of security forces whose various functions in Nigeria differ and as so, we shall be identifying them one after another depending on their names and different offices.
The security forces in Nigeria consists of three uniformed service branches: the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Air Force. The President of Nigeria functions as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, exercising his constitutional authority through the Ministry of Defense, which is responsible for the management of the military and its personnel.
With a force of more than 230,000 active personnel, the Nigerian military is one of the largest uniformed combat services in Africa. According to Global Firepower, the Nigerian Armed Forces are the fourth-most powerful military in Africa, and ranked 35th on its list, internationally.
List of Security Forces in Nigeria
Here are the three strongest forces generally known to have made up the list of security forces in Nigeria today since their inception:
The Nigerian Air Force
One of the prominent of this list of security forces in Nigeria is the Nigerian armed forces (NAF). The Nigerian Air Force is the air branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the youngest branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. NAF was formally established on 18 April 1964 with the passage of the Air Force Act 1964 by the National Assembly.
It is one of the largest in Africa, consisting of about 18,000 personnel as at 2021 and aircraft including 9 Chengdu F-7s, 12 Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jets, three JF-17 Thunder Block II and 12 Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano aircraft, 24 M-346 FAs on order, Helicopter gunships, armed attack drones, and military transport aircraft.
NAF did not acquire combat capability until several Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 aircraft were presented by the Soviet Union in support of Nigeria’s war effort during the Nigerian Civil War.
Read Also: List of 9 Major Paramilitary Forces in Nigeria
NAF Tactical Air Command (TAC), with its headquarters situated at Makurdi, is responsible for interpreting, implementing and controlling NAF operational plans. The Nigerian Air Force headquarters is responsible for establishing long and short-term mission objectives and articulating policies, carrying out plans and procedures for the attainment of peace and stability.
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) is the principal or lead adviser to the President and also the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Defense Staff, on air-related defense matters.
The Nigerian Army
The Nigerian Army is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. It traces its history to Lieutenant John Hawley Glover’s Constabulary Force, which was largely composed of freed Hausa slaves in 1863.
Although it has been set towards growth since it began, the Constabulary Force was established with the primary goal of protecting the Royal Niger Company and its assets from constant military incursions by the neighboring Ashanti Empire.
Commendably scribbled in historical details, it is understood that during the Second World War, British-trained Nigerian troops saw action with the 1st (West Africa) Infantry Brigade, the 81st and the 82nd (West Africa) Divisions which fought in the East African Campaign (World War II) and in the Far East.
However, even beside its winning stature, the roots of the ethnic cleavages which started to rip through the army after independence had some of their origins in colonial recruiting practices, with line infantry and the artillery being raised from the North, but during the expansion of the force during the Second World War a large proportion of more educated southerners being brought in to take up posts that required more technical training.
The Nigerian Army as of 2016 consisted of some 6,000 officers and 150,000 enlisted personnel. The army itself is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC).
The Nigerian Navy
The Nigerian Navy is a branch of the security forces in Nigeria. It is among the largest navies on the African continent, consisting of 25,000 personnel as at 2021.
The Nigerian Navy owes its origin to the Nigerian Marine. Formed in 1914 after the amalgamation of the then Northern and Southern Nigeria, the Nigerian Marine, as it became known after 1914, was a quasi-military organization. This force expanded to become the Southern Nigerian Marine in 1893. A Northern Nigeria equivalent was formed in 1900.
Their responsibilities are:
Its primary responsibility was to train the personnel and set up the appropriate infrastructure necessary for the planned Navy.
- Administration of the ports and harbors
- Dredging of channels
- Buoyage and lighting
- Ferry services
- Touring launches and other small craft that plied the various creeks and other inland waterway
The first basic training establishment for the future Navy—the HMNS Quorra—was started on 1 November 1957 with 60 junior ratings, who underwent a 6-month basic seamanship course.
The Nigerian Navy also have different units under itself which have made it very useful to the nation, Nigeria:
- Naval Ordnance Depot (NOD)
- Naval Doctrine and Assessment Centre (NDAC)
- Navy Holdings Limited (NHL) and 9 subsidiary companies.
- Naval Dockyard Limited (NDL)
- Naval Shipyard Limited (NSYL)
- Naval Building & Construction Company Limited (NBCCL)
- Navy Hotels & Suites Limited (NHSL)
- Navy Micro Finance Bank Limited (NMFBL),
- Navy Maritime Services Limited (NMSL)
- Naval Exchange (NAVEX)
- Naval Engineering Services Limited (NESL)
- Navy Clearing and Forwarding Services Limited (NCFSL)
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