Army, Navy and Air Force schools
Military secondary schools in Nigeria: 16 Army, Navy and Air Force schools, and how civilians get in
Nigeria's armed forces run two kinds of secondary school. The cadet schools, Nigerian Military School at Zaria and Air Force Military School at Jos, are boys' boarding schools with military training alongside the WAEC curriculum and a national entrance examination. The service secondary schools, the Army's Command schools, the Navy secondary schools and the Air Force secondary schools, are ordinary secondary schools run by the services for their families and open to civilians by entrance examination at a higher rate.
Families choose them for discipline, boarding at a modest fee, and, at the cadet schools, a route into the services that is not compulsory. This page lists them with the admission route and the fee scale where a source publishes one; the services publish fees to admitted candidates rather than online, so several rows say 'not published'.
16 schools listed, 7 with a fee figure and its source. Updated 22 September 2026.
How this list is ordered
The two cadet schools first, then the Navy schools, then the Army's Command schools, then the Air Force schools; within each, alphabetical. The Command schools share a fee scale that CampusNinja publishes, which is why they carry a figure and the others do not. Position is not a judgement of teaching quality.
- •Service: Army, Navy or Air Force
- •Cadet school or service secondary school
- •Boarding or day
- •Admission route and the civilian rate
Fees. Where a figure appears it is the civilian rate per session on the source linked (the Command schools' scale), with the lower military-family rate in the note. The cadet schools and the Navy and Air Force schools publish fees to admitted candidates; ask the school directly.
The list
| # | School | Area | Type | Fees | Why it is here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigerian Military School, Zaria Nigerian · Boys · Boarding | Zaria, Kaduna | Nigerian Army, boarding | Not published, ask the school Fees are set by the Army and published to admitted candidates. | The Army's own secondary school since 1954: boys only, full boarding, cadet training alongside the WAEC curriculum, entry by a national examination and interview. Civilian boys are admitted; graduates are not obliged to enlist. |
| 2 | Air Force Military School, Jos Nigerian · Boys · Boarding | Jos, Plateau | Nigerian Air Force, boarding | Not published, ask the school Fees are published to admitted candidates. | The Air Force's counterpart to NMS Zaria: a boys' cadet boarding school in Jos with national entrance examination. |
| 3 | Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Abeokuta Nigerian · Co-educational · Boarding | Abeokuta, Ogun | Nigerian Navy, boarding | Not published, ask the school No schedule published by the institution or a source we would cite. | The Navy's boarding secondary school at Abeokuta, the largest of the Navy schools and open to civilians by examination. |
| 4 | Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Ojo Nigerian · Co-educational · Day and boarding | Ojo, Lagos, Lagos | Nigerian Navy, day and boarding | Not published, ask the school No schedule published by the institution or a source we would cite. | The Navy's Lagos school at the Ojo naval base. |
| 5 | Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Port Harcourt Nigerian · Co-educational · Boarding | Borokiri, Rivers | Nigerian Navy, boarding | Not published, ask the school No schedule published by the institution or a source we would cite. | The Navy's Port Harcourt boarding school at Borokiri. |
| 6 | Command Secondary School, Kaduna Nigerian · Co-educational · Boarding | Kaduna, Kaduna | Nigerian Army, boarding | ₦240,000 to ₦360,000 per yearestimate Civilian rate: ₦80,000 to ₦120,000 a term on the source, shown here as a session; military families pay ₦30,000 to ₦50,000 a term. | One of the Army's boarding Command schools; the Command network runs a common fee scale with a lower rate for soldiers' children. |
| 7 | Command Secondary School, Ibadan Nigerian · Co-educational · Day and boarding | Ibadan, Oyo | Nigerian Army, day and boarding | ₦240,000 to ₦360,000 per yearestimate Civilian rate: ₦80,000 to ₦120,000 a term on the source, shown here as a session; military families pay ₦30,000 to ₦50,000 a term. | The Army's Ibadan Command school. |
| 8 | Command Secondary School, Jos Nigerian · Co-educational · Day and boarding | Jos, Plateau | Nigerian Army, day and boarding | ₦240,000 to ₦360,000 per yearestimate Civilian rate: ₦80,000 to ₦120,000 a term on the source, shown here as a session; military families pay ₦30,000 to ₦50,000 a term. | The Army's Jos Command school. |
| 9 | Command Secondary School, Abakaliki Nigerian · Co-educational · Day and boarding | Abakaliki, Ebonyi | Nigerian Army, day and boarding | ₦240,000 to ₦360,000 per yearestimate Civilian rate: ₦80,000 to ₦120,000 a term on the source, shown here as a session; military families pay ₦30,000 to ₦50,000 a term. | The Army's Abakaliki Command school, the boarding option for the south-east's military families and open to civilians. |
| 10 | Command Secondary School, Suleja Nigerian · Co-educational · Day and boarding | Suleja, Niger | Nigerian Army, day and boarding | ₦240,000 to ₦360,000 per yearestimate Civilian rate: ₦80,000 to ₦120,000 a term on the source, shown here as a session; military families pay ₦30,000 to ₦50,000 a term. | The Army's Command school near Abuja at Suleja. |
| 11 | Command Secondary School, Ipaja Nigerian · Co-educational · Day and boarding | Ipaja, Lagos, Lagos | Nigerian Army, day and boarding | ₦240,000 to ₦360,000 per yearestimate Civilian rate: ₦80,000 to ₦120,000 a term on the source, shown here as a session; military families pay ₦30,000 to ₦50,000 a term. | The Army's Lagos Command school at Ipaja. |
| 12 | Command Day Secondary School, Ojo Cantonment Nigerian · Co-educational · Day | Ojo, Lagos, Lagos | Nigerian Army, day | ₦240,000 to ₦360,000 per yearestimate Civilian rate: ₦80,000 to ₦120,000 a term on the source, shown here as a session; military families pay ₦30,000 to ₦50,000 a term. | A day Command school inside the Ojo cantonment; the Command Day schools are the cheapest structured option in most garrison towns. |
| 13 | Air Force Secondary School, Ikeja Nigerian · Co-educational · Day and boarding | Ikeja, Lagos | Nigerian Air Force, day and boarding | Not published, ask the school No schedule published by the institution or a source we would cite. | The Air Force's Lagos school at the Ikeja base. |
| 14 | Air Force Secondary School, Kaduna Nigerian · Co-educational · Day and boarding | Mando, Kaduna | Nigerian Air Force, day and boarding | Not published, ask the school No schedule published by the institution or a source we would cite. | The Air Force's Kaduna school at Mando. |
| 15 | Air Force Secondary School, Port Harcourt Nigerian · Co-educational · Day and boarding | Port Harcourt, Rivers | Nigerian Air Force, day and boarding | Not published, ask the school No schedule published by the institution or a source we would cite. | The Air Force's Port Harcourt school. |
| 16 | Air Force Secondary School, Makurdi Nigerian · Co-educational · Day and boarding | Makurdi, Benue | Nigerian Air Force, day and boarding | Not published, ask the school No schedule published by the institution or a source we would cite. | The Air Force's Makurdi school at the tactical air command base. |
Run a school on this list, or know a figure is out of date? Claim the profile and correct it; corrections with a fee schedule attached go live the same week.
How admission works
Nigerian Military School and Air Force Military School hold a national entrance examination each year for boys in Primary 6 or JSS1 entry, followed by an interview and medical; forms are sold through the schools and service recruitment portals, and admission is by merit with state spread. The Command, Navy and Air Force secondary schools hold their own entrance examinations, usually in the second term, with priority for service families and a civilian quota.
What a cadet school is and is not
NMS Zaria and AFMS Jos wear uniform, drill, and follow a cadet structure, and their graduates may sit the Nigerian Defence Academy entrance with an advantage; nobody is obliged to enlist and most graduates go to civilian universities. Discipline is real and so is the distance from home: both are boarding only and exeats are limited. The service secondary schools are closer to an ordinary boarding school with a service culture.
Questions parents ask about this list
Can a civilian child attend a military school in Nigeria?
Yes. All the schools on this list admit civilians by entrance examination, at a higher fee than service families. The cadet schools take boys only.
How much do the Command schools charge?
About ₦80,000 to ₦120,000 a term for civilians and ₦30,000 to ₦50,000 for soldiers' children on CampusNinja's 2026/27 scale, plus boarding and levies where the school boards.
Does attending NMS Zaria mean joining the Army?
No. Graduates are free to go on to any university or career; the school gives an advantage to those who later sit the Nigerian Defence Academy examination.
Are there military schools for girls?
The cadet schools are boys only. The Command, Navy and Air Force secondary schools are co-educational.
Why do most rows say not published?
The services publish fees to admitted candidates rather than on a website, and we do not print a figure without a source.