Lagbaja not dead, says Army

Authorities of the Nigerian Army, on Sunday dismissed a report flying around that the Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja, a Lieutenant General has passed away.

A report had earlier on Sunday at about 12:48pm emerged from a former presidential aide and social media commentator, Jackson Ude, that Lagbaja had died of cancer 48 hours earlier.

The post, which had since gone viral read, “The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has died. Lagbaja died in an undisclosed hospital overseas nearly 48 hours ago from stage three cancer, according to a senior government official.

“The death of the Chief of Army Staff has been kept secret due to intense lobbying by some generals who wish to take the position. Lagbaja, born on 28 February 1968 in Ilobu, Osun State, was appointed by President Bola Tinubu in June 2023 as the 27th Chief of Army Staff.”

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But authorities of the Nigerian Army, in a swift reaction to the post, labeled the Ude’s post as “fake news”, while urging Nigerians to disregard the viral post.

Meanwhile, top military officers, who spoke to Daily Trust earlier in the day, confirmed that it was true that the army chief was critically ill in an undisclosed medical facility abroad but not dead as posted by Ude.

“What I can say is that, Oga is ill as of now. Though, he is on leave but wishing him dead doesn’t speak well. He’s still alive as I’m talking to you but in critical condition.

“There is no way such information would be hidden for more than 48 hours. Nobody close to Oga has said he’s no more, so, that means he’s alive,” one of the top military generals confided in our correspondent.

The spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Onyema Nwachukwu, could not be reached for comments as at when filing this report last night as his phone depicted “switched off”. He was yet to respond to a text message sent to him regarding the matter.

But earlier on Saturday, Nwachukwu, a Major-General, dismissed media reports suggesting that there is leadership vacuum following the absence of Lagbaja, saying he is on official leave.

He clarified that necessary protocols had been put in place for the Chief of Policy and Plans (Army), Major General Abdulsalami Ibrahim, to act on his behalf during his absence.

The senior military officer said, “There have even been insinuations that there is a leadership vacuum, with officers confused about what to do. Nothing could be further from the truth.

“To be very clear, the Nigerian Army is a highly structured establishment with well-laid-out procedures and processes for dealing with different circumstances. Before proceeding on leave, necessary protocols were put in place for the Chief of Policy and Plans (Army), Major General Abdulsalami Bagudu Ibrahim, to act on behalf of the COAS while he was away.

“This is not peculiar to the NA, as there have been instances where unforeseen human frailty kept service chiefs away for about three months, and their Chiefs of Policy and Plans held sway in their absence. Claims of a leadership vacuum in the NA at present are therefore mere speculation, as all routine and scheduled activities of the service are on course.”