The first was Lt. Colonel Joseph Akahan who was Chief of Army Staff from May 1967 until May 1968, when he was killed in a helicopter crash during the Nigerian Civil War.

Akahan, from Gboko local government area of Benue state attended Government College Keffi where he obtained his Cambridge School Certificate (1952–1956).

He trained as an officer cadet at the RWAFF Training School Teshi, Ghana (1957–1958) and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, United Kingdom (1958–1960). He was commissioned on 23 July 1960.

He also served with the Nigerian Contingent during the United Nations peacekeeping operations in Congo.

Akahan was one of the leaders of the Nigerian counter-coup of 1966 in which Aguiyi-Ironsi was killed and replaced by General Yakubu Gowon.

Akahan was appointed Chief of Army Staff in May 1967 shortly before the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War.

He was said to be the brain behind the concept of the sea-borne operations led by Lt. Colonel Benjamin Adekunle that captured Bonny in July 1967 during the war.

When he died in a helicopter crash in May 1968, he was replaced as COAS by General Hassan Katsina.

Joe Akahan Barracks located in Makurdi, capital of his home state of Benue is named after him.