Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja, has kissed the dust. The army chief eventually submitted to the terrible reaper’s resounding melody. According to sources, the deceased passed away after spending several days in an undisclosed hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
The army chief’s death was officially revealed on Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, in a press statement titled ‘Announcement of the Passing of Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja.
According to Onanuga, Lagbaja died on Tuesday night in a hospital in Lagos.
Onanuga’s statement further revealed that Lagbaja displayed expected leadership and devotion during his service as a platoon commander in the 93 and 72 Special Forces Battalions.
He further stated that Lagbaja was instrumental in a number of internal security operations, including Operation ZAKI in Benue State, Lafiya Dole in Borno, Udoka in Southeast Nigeria, and Operation Forest Sanity in Kaduna and Niger States.
According to findings by WITHIN NIGERIA, Lt. Lagbaja’s untimely death would mark the third time in history that a Chief of Army Staff would die while in office.
Here are brief details of ex-Chiefs of Army Staff who died in office:
JOSEPH AKAHAN
Joseph Akahan, born on April 12, 1937, was a Nigerian military officer who served as the Chief of Army Staff from May 1967 until May 1968. Akahan was named Chief of Army Staff in May 1967, shortly before the Nigerian Civil War began. He was killed in a helicopter crash during Nigeria’s civil war. He was succeeded as COAS by General Hassan Katsina.
Akahan was an indigene of Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State. He attended Government College Keffi where he obtained his Cambridge School Certificate (1952–1956). He trained as an officer cadet at the RWAFF Training School Teshi, Ghana (1957–1958) and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, United Kingdom (1958–1960). He was commissed on 23 July 1960.
He was said to be the brain behind the concept of the sea-borne operations led by Lt. Colonel Benjamin Adekunle that captured Bonny in July 1967. The popular Joe Akahan Barracks is named after him. The Barrack is located in Makurdi, capital of his home state, Benue. [Wikipedia].
ATTAHIRU IBRAHIM
Attahiru Ibrahim, a Nigerian military commander born on August 10, 1966, served as Chief of Army Staff from January 28, 2021 to May 21, 2021. He was killed along with ten others in the 2021 NAF Beechcraft B300 King Air 350, which crashed near Kaduna International Airport while attending the Passing out Parade of 80RRI in Depot Nigerian Army on May 22, 2021.
The Doka [Kaduna] native was a graduate of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, and Nigerian Army School of Infantry. He commenced officer cadet training in January 1984 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in December 1986 as an Infantry Officer.
He held a master’s degree in Strategic Management and Policy Studies from the Nigerian Defence Academy. He also attained a Masters of Science in Human Resources Management and Development from Salford University in the United Kingdom and a Graduate Diploma in International Studies from the University of Nairobi.
TAOREED LAGBAJA
Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, born February 28, 1968, was a Nigerian military commander who served as the Chief of Army Staff of Nigeria from June 2023 until November 2024. He assumed control from Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya.
Lagbaja was born in the town of Ilobu in Irepodun, present day Osun State on 28 February 1968. He spent his early life in Osogbo where he attended the St Charles Grammar School and Local Authority Teachers College.
He was admitted into the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1987 as a member of the 39th Regular Course. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 19 September 1992 into the Nigerian Infantry Corps. Between 1992 and 1995, Lagbaja was platoon commander of the 93 Battalion.
From 1995 to 2001, he was platoon commander of 72 Special Forces Battalion. In 2001, Lagbaja obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from the Nigerian Defence Academy. He studied Strategic Studies at the US Army War College at the Master’s level.
Lagbaja participated in Operation HARMONY IV in Bakassi Peninsula; United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC); Operation ZAKI Internal Security Operation in Benue State; Operation “Lafiya Dole”; Operation MESA/Operation UDO KA – March 2021 – August 2022 – Internal Security Operation in South-east Nigeria (Anambra/Abia/Ebonyi/Enugu and Imo States); and Operation “Forest Sanity” – Aug 2022 to 2023 – Internal Security Operation in Kaduna/Niger states.
