Domkat Yah Bali, a four-star general in the Nigerian army, was born on February 27, 1940, and served as both the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Defense Staff from 1984 to 1990. He was also a member of the Armed Forces Ruling Council from 1985 to 1990 and the Supreme Military Council from 1984 to 1985.
Hassan Bali Tabut and Yinkat Bali were the parents of Bali, who was born in Langtang, Plateau State. He attended the provincial secondary school in Kuru from 1955 to 1960 after completing his elementary education at Mban, Langtang. A year later, in 1965, Bali was promoted to captain. He served as a regimental commander during the Nigerian Civil War and as a battery commander in 1966. In 1968, he was promoted to major.
Bali served as the Corps of Artillery’s commander from 1970 to 1971 before rising to the rank of colonel in the Second Infantry Division in Ibadan. He was assigned to the 9th Infantry Brigade in Akure in 1973, he later served as the adjutant general of the Nigerian Army in 1975, the commander of the Corps of Artillery in 1976, and the general in command of the First Infantry Division in Kaduna in 1978.
He served as the Commandant of the Nigerian Armed Forces Command and Staff College from 1981 to 1983 and then as the head of army operations and training before being appointed Defense Minister in 1984. In January 1990, he left his position in government service. He served as Chairman of HFP Engineering, the company that constructed Victoria Garden City in Lagos, Nigeria. Bali passed away on December 4, 2020.
