The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, has announced a plan to increase the current size of just over 100,000 to 209,000.
He made the disclosure during a speech at the National Defence College on January 13.
Buratai said the expansion plan would involve a new 8th Division to be established in northeast Nigeria, 6th Division for the South-South region, to cover the Niger Delta.
Also, he said 12,000 personnel would be recruited in 2016.
“We will continue the phased implementation of our order of battle in order to enhance our posture to adequately respond to threats. As you are aware, 8th Division has just been established in the northeast and 6th Division will follow shortly in the South-South,” he said. “These expansions will go hand-in-hand with doctrinal review and the development of new strategies to perform our constitutional role.”
Furthermore, the COAS said 6,000 officers were currently in the Army with 96,000 soldiers.
According to him, the ‘Order of Battle 2010’ plan called for increase to 18,966 officers and more than 190,00 soldiers.