Lucky Eluonye Onyenuchea Irabor (born 5 October 1965) is a retired

Nigerian army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the largest component of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The President of Nigeria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Army, and its professional head is the Chie ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and a former Chief of Defence Staff of Nigeria. He was appointed by

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

on 26 January 2021.

Background

Irabor was born on 5 October 1965 in Aliokpu Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. He gained admission into the

Nigerian Defence Academy The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) 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 ...

(NDA) Kaduna as a member of the 34 Regular Course in 1983 and was commissioned Second Lieutenant on 28 June 1986 into the Signals Corps of the

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the largest component of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The President of Nigeria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Army, and its professional head is the Chie ...

. Irabor attended military and civil courses both locally and abroad. He attended

Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji The Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji is a training facility for the Nigerian Armed Forces, including the army, air force and navy. It is near the village of Jaji, Nigeria, about northeast of Kaduna in the Igabi Local Government Area ...

(AFCSC) for his Junior Staff Course in 1995 and Ghana Armed Forces Staff College, Teshi,

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

for Senior Staff Course in 2000/2001 amongst others. He equally attended the National Defence College in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

in 2010 and Harvard Kennedy Schools of Government and Executive Education, the USA in 2012 and 2017 respectively. Irabor obtained a bachelor's degree in Engineering from

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which w ...

and holds two Masters Degrees from

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It is the oldest public university in the country. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the British colony of the Gold Coast ...

and

Bangladesh University of Professionals Bangladesh University of Professionals () (abbreviated as BUP) is a public university in Mirpur Cantonment of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. Established on 5 June 2008, it is controlled by the Bangladesh Armed Forces and is affiliated w ...

, Dhaka.

Early life and education

General Irabor was raised in a military family and had his early education at the Nigerian Military School, Zaria. He later attended the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, where he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering in 1983.

Awards

In October 2022, a Nigerian national honour of

Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic The Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) is one of two orders of merit, established by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1963. It is senior to the Order of the Niger. The highest honours are the Grand Commander in the Order of the Federal Rep ...

(CFR) was conferred on him by President

References

1965 births Living people Nigerian generals Obafemi Awolowo University alumni University of Ghana alumni Multinational Joint Task Force Commanders Chiefs of Defence Staff (Nigeria) Commanders of the Order of the Federal Republic People from Delta State Igbo people {{Nigeria-mil-bio-stub