Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Abu Ali (15 August 1980 – 4 November 2016) was a

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 ...

officer who commanded the Army's 272 Tank Battalion. He was a prince to the people of Bassa Nge in Kogi state. He was killed in an ambush by

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...

in Malam Fatori,

Borno State Borno is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Yobe State, Yobe to the west, Gombe State, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa State, Adamawa to the south while its ea ...

Early life and education

Ali graduated from Command Secondary School, Jos

Plateau State Plateau is a northern states of Nigeria, Nigerian state. It is located in the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria and includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and Tourism". Th ...

Nigeria, in 1997 and was admitted to 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 ...

in 1998 as a member of the 50th Regular Course. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant into the Nigerian Army Armour Corps in September 2003. His father was Brigadier General Abu Ali, now the Etsu of Bassa-Nge Kingdom in

Kogi State Kogi State is a States of Nigeria, state in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti State, Ekiti and Kwara State, Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Fe ...

Career

He participated in the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), United Missions in Darfur (UNMO), and received an accelerated promotion from the rank of Major to Lieutenant Colonel, receiving a gallantry award by the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General

Tukur Yusuf Buratai Tukur Yusuf Buratai (born 24 November 1960) is a retired Nigerian army lieutenant general, former Chief of Army Staff (appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in July 2015), and Nigeria's Ambassador to the Republic of Benin. He was commissi ...

in September 2015.

Chief of Army Staff award for exceptional bravery

Ali received the Chief of Army Staff award in Gamboru for exceptional bravery from Lt Gen

on 9 September 2015, for his role in the fight against Boko Haram.

Death

Ali along with six other soldiers were ambushed and killed by

on 4 November 2016. He was buried on 7 November 2016, at the

National Military Cemetery, Abuja National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Muhammad Abu Nigerian Army officers Nigerian Defence Academy alumni 1980 births 2016 deaths Nigerian military personnel killed in action War-related deaths in Nigeria