The Nigerian Army has dismissed the report of the death of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja.
It would be recalled that an X user, Jackson Ude, had taken to the platform to claim that Labaja died of cancer in an undisclosed hospital overseas.
Ude claimed that Lagbaja’s death had been kept silent due to intense lobbying by some top army generals.
He wrote: “CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF DIES OF CANCER.” 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 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.”
The Nigerian Army has now described the claims as “false.”
In an earlier statement, the spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Onyema Nwachukwu, had said Labaja was on leave.
Nwachukwu said the Army Chief of Policy and Plans, Major General Abdulsalami Ibrahim, would act in Lagbaja’s stead.
