The Nigerian Army has debunked reports circulating about the death of its Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja.
Reports surfaced online, claiming Lagbaja had passed away due to cancer in an undisclosed hospital abroad.
However, the Army dismissed these reports as false, confirming that the Army Chief is alive.
Reacting to the post on X, the Nigerian Army marked it as fake news.
— Nigerian Army (@HQNigerianArmy) October 20, 2024
However, sources at the Army Headquarters confirmed to Punch that the Army Chief was critically ill.
One of the sources said, “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 that he died.”
Another source said he was out of the country to treat himself.
“ He is out of the country for treatment. And I have not heard of his death from anyone around him. There is no way such information could be hidden.”
Meanwhile the Nigerian Army has dismissed insinuations that the absence may affect the running of the institution, describing the Army as a structured organisation with protocols.
A statement by the Army Spokesman, Onyema Nwachukwu revealed that Major General Abdulsalami Bagudu Ibrahim has been appointed to to act on behalf of the COAS, while he is away.
