Nigeria gets new army chief

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria

Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari named the commander of counter-terrorism operations the country’s new army chief.

"The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Mohammadu Buhari has appointed Major General Farouk Yahaya as the new Chief of Army Staff," Acting Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu said in a statement.

He said Yahaya once commanded the Army 1st Division and other army commands before his deployment to the northeast last year to head military counter-terrorism operations.

His appointment as the country’s 26th army chief came barely one week after a military plane crash killed his predecessor and 10 officers in northwest Kaduna.