There are several ranks in the Nigerian Army. This post will help you know all of those ranks and show you how to identify them using their respective logos/badges.

In the real sense, those in the military refer to those badges as insignias. But for the sake of the layman, we’ll stick to calling them badges.

Nigeria is believed to own the largest land army in African. This is not really so surprising, considering the fact that our nation is the most populous in the Africa continent.

All the officers in the Nigerian army have unique badges/symbols which differentiate their ranks.

The ranks in the Nigerian Army are grouped into two, namely: Commissioned officers ranks and non-commissioned officers ranks.

Graduates of the Nigerian Defence Academy or DSSC/ SSC attain Commissioned officers rank upon successful completion of their program.

However, Non-commissioned officers enter into the Nigerian Army through the Regular Recruit Intake (RRI) programme. Some of them eventually end up attaining Commissioned ranks.

Read also: Apply now for Nigerian Army Short Service & Direct Short Service Commissions.

Commissioned officers’ ranks in The Nigerian Army and their insignias/badges

Below are the commissioned officers’ ranks in the Nigerian army (from the highest to the lowest):

1. Field Marshal

Field Marshal is the highest attainable rank in the Nigerian Army. However, never in the history of Nigeria has any army officer been able to reach this rank. By law, it must be granted on honorary grounds and not by promotion. Field Marshal is similar to Admiral of the fleet in the Nigerian Navy (NN) and Marshal in the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

2. General

The Army General is technically the highest rank in the Nigerian Army, since no army officer has been able to go past this rank in the short history of this nation. An Army General is equivalent to Admiral in the Navy and Air Chief Marshal in the Air Force.

3. Lieutenant General

A Lieutenant General is an Army Officer directly below a General in rank. This position is equivalent to Vice-Admiral in the Navy and Air Marshal in the Air Force.

4. Major General

An Army Major General is directly below a Lieutenant General and directly Superior to a Brigadier General. His rank is similar to that of a Rear Admiral in the Navy and Air Vice-Marshal in the Air Force.

5. Brigadier General

An Army Brigadier General is directly under a Major General in rank order. And on the other hand, is a direct superior to a Colonel. A Brigadier General is equivalent to a Commodore in the Navy and an Air Commodore in the Air Force.

6. Colonel

A Colonel is a direct subordinate of a Brigadier General and is a direct superior to a Lieutenant Colonel in rank order. This position is similar to Captain in the Navy and Group Captain in the Air Force.

7. Lieutenant Colonel

A Lieutenant Colonel, as the name implies, is directly below a Colonel in rank order and directly superior to a Major. Compared to other military forces in Nigeria, this rank is similar to a Commander and Wing Commander in the Navy and Air force respectively.

8. Major

A Major is a direct below a Lieutenant Colonel and direct above a Captain in rank order. This military rank corresponds to Lieutenant Commander in the Navy and Squadron Leader in the Air Force.

9. Captain

Captain is the rank directly below Major in the Nigerian Army. And is on the other hand directly above The First Lieutenant rank. a Nigerian Army Captain assumes a position identical to Lieutenant in the Nigerian Navy and Flight Lieutenant in the Nigerian Air Force.

10. First Lieutenant

An Army First Lieutenant, which is similar to Sub Lieutenant in the Navy and Flying Officer in the Air Force, is the rank directly below Captain.

11. Second Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant is the lowest rank in the Nigerian Army for commissioned officers. It is directly below the First Lieutenant rank. However, this rank is higher than that of all the non-commissioned officers rank. A Second Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army is similar to Midshipman in the Navy and Pilot Officer in the Air Force.

In summary, here are the ranks for commissioned officers in the Nigerian Army from the highest to the lowest:

1. Field Marshal
2. General
3. Lieutenant General
4. Major General
5. Brigadier General
6. Colonel
7. Lieutenant Colonel
8. Major
9. Captain
10. First Lieutenant
11. Second Lieutenant

Nigerian Army ranks for Non-Commissioned/enlisted personnel

Here are the ranks for non-commissioned / enlisted personnel in the Nigerian Army from the highest to the lowest:

• Army Warrant Officer
• Master Warrant Officer
• Warrant Officer
• Staff Sergeant
• Sergeant
• Corporal
• Lance Corporal
• Private Soldier

Unfortunately, we are not able to provide pictures of the insignias for non-commissioned officers ranks at the moment. Once we’re able to do that we’ll update this post.

What is the overall highest rank in the Nigerian Army?

Taking into account the ranks for both commissioned and non-commissioned officers, Field Marshal is the overall highest rank in the Nigerian Army.

What is the lowest rank in the Nigerian Army?

Taking into account the ranks for both commissioned and non-commissioned officers, Private Soldier/recruit is the lowest rank.