Yahaya was the former General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna.
Following the sudden death on Friday of Ibrahim Attahiru, who was the Chief of Army Staff, President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Major General Farouk Yahaya as the new Chief of Army Staff.
Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu, Acting Director, Defence Information, announced this in a statement on Thursday.
Attahiru and 10 other military officers had died in a military plane crash that occurred in Kaduna.
They were on their way to Zaria for the passing out parade of regular recruits slated for the next day.
The officers, including three Brigadier Generals, have since been buried at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja.
Here are a few things to know about the new army boss:
1. Before his appointment, he was the Theatre Commander of the counter-terrorism military outfit in the North-East which is code-named Operation Hadin Kai.
2. Yahaya was the former General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna.
3. He was born on 5 January, 1966.
4. He was born in Sifawa in the Bodinga Local Government Area of Sokoto state.
5. He is a a member of Regular Course 37.
6. He is the 22nd Chief of Army Staff.
7. He has also held the position of Military Secretary (Army).
8. He was also Commander of 4 Brigade Headquarters of the Nigerian Army in Benin, Edo state.
9. He started his cadet training on 27 September 1985 and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps on 22 September 1990.
10. He also served as the Principal General Staff Officer (PGSO) to the Honourable Minister of Defence.
11. He is happily married and blessed with children.
12. He is also a proud holder of several honours and awards, some of which include: Forces Service Star, Meritorious Service Star, Distinguished Service Star, Grand Service Star, Passed staff course (Dagger), National DefenceCourse (Chile), Economic Community of West Africa State Monitoring Group Medal, Command Medal, Field Command Medal, General Operations Medal, Silver Jubilee Medal and Golden Jubilee Medal.