IBADAN, Wednesday, September 30, 2026. The Army widows housing project at Akobo, Ibadan, Oyo State, was commissioned on Tuesday, with 50 homes handed to widows and families of Nigerian Army personnel killed in service.
Key facts
- The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, commissioned 50 houses for families of fallen soldiers in Ibadan on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
- The homes are located at the PHDL Pacesetter Estate 4 in Akobo, Ibadan, Oyo State.
- Each of the 50 houses is a two-bedroom detached bungalow fitted with a solar home system, Family Homes Funds Limited said.
- Family Homes Funds Limited built the homes in partnership with the Nigerian Army Post Service Housing Development Limited.
- A wounded soldier, Lance Corporal Olufemi Olalekan, also received the key to his own house at the ceremony.
Who commissioned the Army widows housing in Ibadan
Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, the Chief of Army Staff, was represented at the ceremony by Major General Auwalu Mahmuda, General Officer Commanding 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Tribune Online reported.
Shaibu said the event combined remembrance of fallen soldiers with the duty of caring for the families they left behind. The Army chief said no gesture could replace the people those families had lost, but the Army had a responsibility to make sure they were not forgotten.
Shaibu said the homes were “not presented as a substitute for what was lost,” describing them as a way for the Army to stand with the families.
The handover formed part of activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary, Radio Nigeria Ibadan reported.
What the new homes include
Each of the 50 two-bedroom detached bungalows has a solar home system and connected streetlights, Dr Henry Emeka Inegbu, Executive Director, Operations, at Family Homes Funds Limited (FHFL), said. Inegbu represented Mr Abdulmutalab Mukhtar, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FHFL.
Inegbu said industrial boreholes and a water reticulation system had been installed to supply clean water across the estate.
FHFL will also run a skill acquisition programme for the beneficiaries, mainly the women, to support self-reliance, Inegbu added.
How the Army widows housing fits the soldiers’ housing scheme
The Army’s post-service housing scheme pays 80 per cent of the cost of each home, while serving soldiers pay the remaining 20 per cent, Shaibu said. Five per cent of completed units are reserved free of charge for soldiers wounded in battle, according to the Army chief.
The wider Akobo development has about 60 units, made up of 30 two-bedroom units and 30 three-bedroom bungalows, Tribune Online reported.
Lance Corporal Olufemi Olalekan, a soldier wounded in battle, received a key to his own house at the event. Tribune Online reported that Olalekan had recently left hospital after suffering facial injuries from an improvised explosive device.
What PHDL and the widows said
Major General Kevin Ukandu, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Army Post Service Housing Development Limited (PHDL), said the homes were about honouring the memory of fallen personnel, not only providing shelter. Ukandu said no house could replace a lost husband or father, but decent housing could offer some comfort.
Mrs Grace Abiodun Adenodi, a widow who spoke for the beneficiaries, said the homes reassured the families that their husbands’ sacrifices had not been forgotten.
Background
The Army widows housing units were first announced in December 2025. That month, Shaibu commissioned a 60-unit Affordable Home Ownership Option for All Soldiers (AHOOAS) estate and a PHDL shopping complex at Akobo, the Nigerian Army said.
At that event, Major General Isiah Alison, then head of PHDL, said FHFL had built 50 two-bedroom houses to be donated to widows of fallen soldiers, Zagazola reported. Alison also said homes costing up to ₦30 million were being sold to soldiers for as little as ₦7.5 million, PRNigeria reported.
The scheme began with a pilot at Idu, Abuja, which delivered more than 400 units. It has since expanded to Ibadan, Benin, Jos and Akwa Ibom, according to the Army.
[INTERNAL LINK: affordable housing in Nigeria | affordable housing projects in Nigeria]
What happens next for Army widows housing beneficiaries
FHFL said it would roll out its skill acquisition programme for the beneficiaries. Ukandu said PHDL would keep working with state governments and agencies on welfare housing for personnel and the families of those killed in service.
Shaibu urged the beneficiaries to maintain the houses and called on residents to live peacefully together.
