Nigeria's Armed Forces Ruling Council was established by Ibrahim Babangida following the 1985 Nigerian coup d'état that overthrew Muhammadu Buhari. It replaced Buhari's Supreme Military Council, which had been in place since the 1983 Nigerian coup d'état.
Initial membership
Name PositionMajor-General Ibrahim BabangidaPresident, Chairman of the Armed Forces Ruling Council, Chairman of the Federal Executive Council, Commander in Chief – Nigerian Armed ForcesCommodore Ebitu UkiweChief of General StaffMajor-General Domkat BaliDefence Minister and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffMaj-Gen Sani AbachaChief of Army StaffAir Vice Marshal Ibrahim Mahmud AlfaChief of Air StaffRear-Admiral Augustus AikhomuChief of Naval StaffMajor-General Mamman Jiya VatsaMinister of the Federal Capital TerritoryEtim InyangInspector-General of PoliceBrigadier Peter AdomokhaiGOC, 1 Mechanised Infantry Division – KadunaBrigadier Yohanna Yerima KureGOC, 2 Mechanised Division – IbadanBrigadier Joshua Nimyel DogonyaroGOC, 3 Armoured Infantry Division – JosBrigadier Donaldson Oladipo DiyaGOC, 82 Division – EnuguBrigadier Gado NaskoCommander - Nigerian Army Corps of ArtilleryBrigadier Duro AjayiCommander, Training and Doctrine CommandBrigadier Paul OmuCommandant, Command and Staff CollegeBrigadier Joseph Olayeni OniDirector - Joint Services Brigadier Abdullahi MammanDirector of Army Training and Operations Commodore AlokoFlag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command Commodore Murtala NyakoFlag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command Commodore Mauftau Adegoke Babatunde ElegbedeFlag Officer Commanding, Sea Training Command Air Vice Marshal Muhammadu YahayaAir officer Commanding – Air Training CommandAir Commodore Bayo LawalAir Officer Commanding, Tactical Air Command Air Commodore Nura ImamAir Officer Commanding, Logistics Command Air Commodore Larry KoinyanAir ForceLt-Col John ShagayaCommander, 9 Mechanised BrigadeLt-Col Halilu AkiluDirector-General, Directorate of Military IntelligenceLt-Col Raji Alagbe RasakiCommander, Army Headquarters Garrison and Signal Group Lt-Col Tanko AyubaCommander – Corps of Signals
Of these initial members, only five (Abacha, Dogonyaro, Aikhomu, Nyako and Elegbede) were still members when Babangida stepped down in 1993.Max Siollun, Babangida, His Life and Times , Part 4
References