Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, is dead.
Speculation about Lagbaja’s health was rife after he disappeared from public functins.
Lagbaja died after battling an undisclosed ailment. He was 56 years of age.
In a statement, Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to the president, said Lagbaja “passed away on Tuesday night in Lagos after a period of illness”.
“Born on February 28, 1968, Lt. General Lagbaja was appointed Chief of Army Staff on June 19, 2023, by President Tinubu,” the statement reads
He was appointed COAS by President Bola Tinubu on June 19, 2023.
On October 20, the army dismissed rumours that Lagbaja had passed on, adding that the army chief was undergoing medical treatment abroad.
On October 30, Tinubu appointed Olufemi Oluyede as the acting COAS.
On November 5, the president decorated Oluyede with a new rank of lieutenant-general.
This is not the first time a COAS will die in office.
Blueprint reports that just four months after being named as Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Ibrahim Attahiru, died in an air crash at the Kaduna International Airport in 21 May, 2021.
The COAS, who was heading for Kaduna on official duty, reportedly perished with no fewer than seven top aides, who were travelling on the same 350 Beechcraft Aircraft.
The loud screams coupled with the explosion resulting from the aircraft before it finally crashed, reportedly threw the inhabitants of the airport community into chaos, fear and confusion.
“All the crew members and passengers numbering 12 died in the crash,” the Nigerian Army said in a statement.
Lt. Gen Ibrahim Attahiru was appointed Chief of Army Staff along with other Service Chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 26, 2021