Nigerian Army Reacts To Rumours Of Chief of Army Staff Lagbaja’s Death

• The Nigerian Army has reacted to speculations claiming that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, is dead
• The headquarters of the Nigerian Army categorically dismissed the report, describing it as fake news
• President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Lt. Gen Lagbaja as the 27th Chief of Army Staff on June 2023

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international events

FCT, Abuja - The Nigerian Army has denied reports that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, is dead.

The army categorically labelled the reports of alleged Lagbaja’s death as fake news.

This was disclosed via its X handle (formerly known as Twitter) HQNigerianArmy on Sunday, October 20.

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This was in reaction to an online report that circulated on social media stating, “Chief of Army Staff dies of cancer.”

The report claimed that a a senior government official disclosed that Lt. Gen. Lagbaja passed away in an undisclosed hospital overseas nearly 48 hours ago due to stage three cancer.

Furthermore, the report alleged that the news of Lagbaja's death had been kept secret due to intense lobbying by some Army Generals seeking to assume his position.

Reacting also to the rumour, Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser Information and Strategy to President Tinubu, said the director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu has dismissed fake reports.

Writing via his X handle, @aonanuga1956, Onanuga wrote:

“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 is away,".

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'Lagbaja did not resign', army

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian army dismissed reports claiming that Lieutenant General Lagbaja has resigned from his position.

The defence headquarters quashed an online report alleging that Lagbaja had submitted his resignation letter to President Bola Tinubu.

Nwachukwu labelled the report as “fake news” and urged the general public to disregard it

Source: Legit.ng