The Nigerian Army on Sunday debunked reports circulating that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has died.
Several reports, originating from a social media post by a Nigerian journalist announcing the death of the Army chief, had gone viral.
The journalist claimed that Lagbaja had died of cancer 48 hours ago.
The post read, “The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has died. Lagbaja died in an undisclosed hospital overseas nearly 48hrs ago from a stage three Cancer, according to a senior Government official.
“The death of the Chief of Army staff has been kept secret because of intense lobbying by some Generals who want to take the position.
“Lagbaja, born on February 28, 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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Reacting to the post on X, the Nigerian Army marked it as fake news.
However, sources at the Army Headquarters confirmed to newsmen that the Army Chief was critically ill.
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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.”
The phone number of the director, Army Public Relations, Maj. Gen Onyema Nwachukwu indicated it was switched off. He was yet to respond to a message sent to him on the matter.
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