4 Brigade, Benin defeats others to emerge winner of Army's 2 Division combat competition
By Editor
Aug 24, 2025
Courage, determination, enthusiasm and the spirit of resilience were at play at the Nigerian Army Cantonment, Ekehuan, Benin City, Edo State, on Friday as young officers from different formations under the 2 Division of the Nigerian Army converged in Benin for the 2025 Inter-Brigade Combat Proficiency Competition.
With a display of dexterity to outclass one another, participants were full of excitement throughout the events involving not less than 6 military formations.
These formations are 4 Brigade, Benin; 32 Brigade, Akure; 12 Brigade, Lokoja; 22 Brigade, Ilorin; 42 Engrs Brigade, Ibadan and the 2 Division Garrison, Ibadan.
At the grand finale of the competition, the junior officers from these formations competed in obstacle crossing.
They participated in activities such as Tug of War, Swimming, Weapon handling/shooting, endurance run and obstacle crossing.
At the end of the keenly contested competition, 4 Brigade, Benin City emerged the overall winner with six trophies, having defeated the other five brigades and garrison.
4 Brigade scored a total of 440 points to triumph over others; while 12 Brigade, Lokoja came 2nd with 390 points, with 2 Division Garrison/81 Battalion emerging 3rd with 380 points.
Similarly, 32 Brigade, Akure came 4th with 370 points, 22 Brigade, Ilorin with 350 points came 5th, while 42 EB/52 SB/ECC came 6th with 282 points.
In his closing remarks, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 2 Division Nigerian Army, Major-General, Chinedu Nnebeife said the competition was designed to improve the leadership qualities of Junior Commanders.
Nnebeife, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the ceremony, added that it was also geared towards challenging the junior officers' initiative and preparing them for higher responsibilities by enhancing combat proficiency through physical skills and endurance.
Brig-Gen Justin Ifeanyi, Commander 32 Brigade, representative of General Officer Commanding (GOC), 2 Division Nigerian Army, Major-General Chinedu Nnebeife, Brig-Gen Oduyebo and other top officers in a group photograph with the 4 Brigade contingents, the overall winner of the competition.
The GOC, represented by Brigadier-General Justin A Ifeanyi, Commander 32 Brigade, said it was also for the promotion of esprit de corps among the participating formations.
He noted that as the major stakeholders in tackling the myriads of insecurity challenges in the country, it has become expedient for its personnel to train continuously to be ahead of the adversary at all times.
"It is heartwarming to say that this unique event is the first training activity I am witnessing upon my assumption of duty as General Officer Commanding 2 Division Nigerian Army a few days ago.
"The participants, who represented their formations, displayed both individual and team spirit during the combat readiness activities designed for the competition, such as Tug of War, Swimming, Weapon handling/shooting, endurance run and obstacle crossing.
"As it is popularly said, “we sweat more in peacetime through training and bleed less during war and vice versa.
"Recall that similar competition was conducted for the Cpls and Below and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers a few months back where we witnessed the showcasing of leadership skills at the other ranks level”, he said.
He, commended the participants for the resilience they all displayed during the competition.
Nnebeife reiterated that the Combat Proficiency Competition was aimed at improving leadership skills, organisational ability, esprit de corps, endurance, co-operation and use of initiative of young officers.
While underscoring the importance of the competition, he posited that the qualities are prerequisites for battle success and operational effectiveness as encapsulated in the Chief of Army Staff's command philosophy.
According to him, the Chief of Army Staff's command philosophy, which is “To Consolidate the Transformation of the Nigerian Army Towards Bequeathing a Well-Motivated and Combat-Ready Force that can Effectively Discharge its Constitutional Responsibilities within a Joint and Multi-Agency Environment.
He, however, charged all the officers to effectively apply the skills gained during the preparatory training and those acquired during the competition.
The event was attended by heads of other security agencies in the state, including the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, Monday Agbonika; the Nigeria Immigration Services; the Nigeria Correctional Centre; and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), among others.
The high point was the presentation of awards to officers who distinguished themselves during the competition, heads of other security agencies, among others.
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