Meet Onyechi Appolonia Anele, first female Nigerian military spokesperson

In a historic move, the Nigerian Army has appointed Lieutenant Colonel (Mrs) Onyechi Appolonia Anele FSS anipr as the Acting Director of Army Public Relations (Ag DAPR), making her the first female officer to occupy this prestigious position.

A seasoned and highly accomplished public relations and strategic communication expert, Lt Col Anele brings decades of exemplary military service, professionalism, and leadership into her new role.

Hailing from Ehime-Mbano Local Government Area in Imo State, Lt Col Onyechi Appolonia Anele was born into a disciplined military family — the daughter of the late Warrant Officer Cyraicus Anele and the late Mrs Appolonia Anele.

Her early education began at Army Children’s School, Rukuba Barracks and Command Day Secondary School, both in Jos, Plateau State.

Driven by a passion for communication and public engagement, she proceeded to the University of Jos, where she earned both a Diploma and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communication.

Following her participation in the National Youth Service Corps, she was commissioned as a Lieutenant into the Directorate of Army Public Relations on December 8, 2007, as part of Direct Regular Course 15.

Over the course of her career, Lt Col Anele has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to professional growth. She has undergone numerous military and civil training programmes, including the Young Officers Course (2010), Media Operations Officers Course (2013), Advanced Public Relations Officers Course (2016), and Strategic Communications Course (2025), all at the Nigerian Army School of Public Relations and Information (NASPRI).

Her international training credentials are equally impressive. Between 2011 and 2013, she attended several programmes at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra, Ghana, including the Crisis Information Management Course, Conflict Prevention Course, and Integrated Peace Support Operations Course. In 2015, she expanded her expertise with training at the Royal Air Force Halton in the UK and the École de Maintien de la Paix in Mali. She further strengthened her knowledge in gender advocacy through the Gender Training of Trainers Course at SwedInt, Sweden, in 2017.

Academically, Lt Col Anele holds two Master’s degrees — one in Gender Peace and Security from the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Centre (2013) and another in Leadership and Strategic Studies from the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna (2024).

Throughout her military journey, she has held a variety of command, staff, and instructional roles. Notably, she served as Military Public Information Officer for NIBATT 5 under the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) in 2008. She also served at Headquarters 2 Division, Ibadan; as an instructor and later Chief Instructor at NASPRI, Lagos; and as Gender Officer at the Army Headquarters in Abuja.

From January 2018 to May 2021, Lt Col Anele was the Public Relations Officer to the then Chief of Army Staff, followed by her posting as PRO at the Defence Space Administration. She also served as Acting Executive Director of Corporate Affairs at the Nigerian Army Welfare Holdings Limited by Guarantee (NAWHLG) and, most recently, as Staff Officer Grade One, Human Rights at the Defence Headquarters, Department of Civil Military Cooperation.

Lt Col Anele’s historic appointment signals a new era in the Nigerian Army’s public relations landscape, underscoring the institution’s commitment to gender inclusion, professionalism, and strategic communication excellence. With her wealth of experience and distinguished track record, she is poised to drive the Directorate of Army Public Relations into a new chapter of impactful engagement and military transparency.