The 4 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, based in Benin, won the 2026 2 Division Inter-Brigade Corporals and Below Competition. The four-day event concluded on Thursday at Ekenwa Cantonment in Benin, featuring six formations tested in drills, weapon handling, shooting, obstacle crossing and combat swimming. The 12 Brigade from Lokoja placed second, followed by 2 Division Garrison, Ibadan, in third and 32 Artillery Brigade, Akure, in fourth.
Maj.-Gen. Adebayo Adegbite, Commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Supply and Transport, attended as Special Guest of Honour. He stated the competition had fulfilled its purpose of preparing junior soldiers for real-world operations. "Judging from the zeal and performance of the participating formations, I am satisfied that the essence of this competition has been largely achieved," Adegbite said. He described corporals and below as the backbone of the Army, adding the exercises improved their physical and mental readiness amid Nigeria's security challenges.
Brig.-Gen. Ahmed Balogun, Commander of 4 Brigade, hosted the event and praised the soldiers for demonstrating skills, leadership and teamwork. He emphasized the competition's role in building unity and operational effectiveness. Over N3 million in cash prizes was awarded to female finalists in the obstacle crossing event. The chairman also pledged a motorcycle to each of the 12 soldiers from 4 Brigade who won the obstacle crossing event. Individual medals and cash prizes were given to outstanding participants.
Brig.-Gen. Ahmed Balogun praised unity and resilience while presiding over a competition that awarded motorcycles only to soldiers from his own 4 Brigade. The cash prizes and motorcycles went exclusively to winners from the host formation, raising questions about fairness in an event meant to foster division-wide standards. Female soldiers received over N3 million collectively, yet no breakdown was given on how many benefited or how the funds were distributed. The disparity between broad ideals of teamwork and selective rewards for one brigade's men stands out.
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