2026 Enlistment Into Nigerian Army Short Service Begins: How To Apply

<h4>2026 Enlistment Into Nigerian Army Short Service Begins<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<h4><&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that the Nigerian Army has announced that applications for its Short Service Combatant Commission &lpar;SSCC&rpar; Course 49&sol;2026 are currently ongoing&comma; calling on qualified Nigerians to apply and join as commissioned officers&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The recruitment exercise opened on Thursday&comma; October 9&comma; 2025&comma; and will close on Wednesday&comma; November 12&comma; 2025&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to the Army&comma; the programme is open to serving military personnel as well as eligible civilian applicants who meet the specified requirements&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Applicants must be Nigerian citizens by birth and must be between 23 and 27 years old as of January 9&comma; 2026&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Civilian candidates are also expected to submit letters of attestation from two reputable individuals&comma; such as a Local Government Chairman&sol;Secretary or a senior officer in the military or police&comma; not below the rank of Lieutenant Colonel or Assistant Commissioner of Police&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The army also noted that applicants will serve in combat arms and combat support arms of the army after successful training and commission&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>Basic requirements<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>•<em> Must be medically&comma; mentally&comma; and physically fit by Army standards&period;<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Civilians must provide two referees’ attestation letters from recognized officials &lpar;e&period;g&period;&comma; Local Government Chairman or senior military&sol;police officer from applicant’s state&rpar;&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>• Must submit a Letter of Attestation from former educational institutions&period;<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Minimum height&colon; 1&period;68m &lpar;male&rpar; and 1&period;65m &lpar;female&rpar;&period;<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Must have no criminal convictions or disciplinary cases&semi; service members need endorsement from commanding officers&period;<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Must possess at least a first degree &lpar;Second Class Lower&rpar; or HND &lpar;Lower Credit&rpar; from an accredited institution &lpar;2017 to date&rpar;&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>• Must provide a valid birth certificate&sol;age declaration and certificate of state of origin&period;<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Non-military applicants must have <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;vanguardngr&period;com&sol;">NYSC discharge or exemption certificate<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Must provide valid contact information of parents&sol;guardians and next of kin&period;<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• No tattoos or body inscriptions allowed&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>• Must present original copies of all educational certificates &lpar;primary to tertiary&rpar;&period;<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Serving personnel must have served at least 5 years&comma; present military ID and recommendation letters&comma; and declare service status honestly&period;<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Must not belong to any cult&comma; secret society&comma; or fraternity&period;<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Must not have been dismissed or withdrawn from any military or paramilitary training institution&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong>                                                  How to apply<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>Visit the official Nigerian Army recruitment portal at <strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;recruitment&period;army&period;mil&period;ng&sol;">recruitment&period;army&period;mil&period;ng<&sol;a><&sol;strong> and select the SSC option&period;<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• You will be redirected to a page containing the conditions of entry for the Short Service Combatant Commission &lpar;SSCC&rpar; Course 49&sol;2026&period;<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Click on <&sol;em><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Apply Now”<&sol;strong><em> under the SSC 49&sol;2026 section according to your qualification&period;<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Indicate whether you are currently serving or have previously served in the Armed Forces of Nigeria&comma; then proceed&period;<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• If you are a new applicant&comma; click <&sol;em><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Sign Up”<&sol;strong> <em>to create an account &lpar;a verification link will be sent to your email&rpar;&period; Log in using your new or existing credentials&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;30866" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-30866" style&equals;"width&colon; 201px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><img class&equals;"size-full wp-image-30866" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;10&sol;Untitled-23&period;jpeg" alt&equals;"2026 Enlistment Into Nigerian Army Short Service Begins&colon; How To Apply" width&equals;"201" height&equals;"251" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-30866" class&equals;"wp-caption-text"><em><strong>New Chief of Army Staff &lpar;COAS&rpar;&comma; Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;