There is confusion over the whereabouts of the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, even as the Nigerian Army on Sunday refuted reports of his demise.
The COAS has not been seen in public for several weeks fuelling fears of his wellbeing.
Controversy over the fate of Lagbaja emerged on social media alleging the death of the Army chief,
According to one of the earliest posts on the matter by a Nigerian journalist, it was claimed that Lagbaja had died of cancer 48 hours earlier.
The post 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.”
However, in a post on X, the Nigerian Army labelled it as fake news.
However, sources at the Army Headquarters say that the Army Chief was critically ill.
One source stated, “The COAS is not dead. He is only critically ill at the moment. We should be praying for him at this critical time and not spreading rumours of his death.”
Another source said that he had travelled abroad for medical treatment.
“He is out of the country for treatment. I have not heard of his death from anyone close to him. There is no way such information could be hidden.”
The Director of Army Public Relations, Maj. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, could not be reached on phone regarding the matter.
If the news of Lagbaja’s passing turns out to be true, he will be the second army chief in recent times to have died in active duty.
In May 22, 2021, the then Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, died in a plane crash in Kaduna.
Attahiru, who was appointed Chief of Army Staff on January 26, died alongside 10 others who were on board the aircraft with him.
The aircraft, with registration number 5N-R203, was billed to land at the Nigerian Airforce Base in the Mando area of Kaduna before it diverted and attempted to land at the Kaduna International Airport.
The officers were said to be on their way to Kaduna ahead of Saturday’s passing-out parade of soldiers from the Nigerian Army Depot in Zaria.
