Lt. General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, Chief of the Army Staff has passed away. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced his death this morning. Lagbaja died at the age of 56.
According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President, Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, he passed away on Tuesday night in Lagos after a period of illness.
Born on February 28, 1968, Lt. General Lagbaja was appointed Chief of Army Staff on June 19, 2023, by President Tinubu. He hailed from Ilobu, Osun state.
Lt. General Lagbaja is survived by his beloved wife, Mariya, and their two children.
On October 20, the army had dismissed rumours that Lagbaja had passed on, adding that the army chief was undergoing medical treatment abroad. Meanwhile, on October 30, the President appointed Olufemi Oluyede as the acting COAS. Yesterday, November 5, the president decorated Oluyede with a new rank of lieutenant-general in preparation for his confirmation as the substantive COAS.