Is life in these parts always about politics and the maxim advantage it confers on wielders of power? Must Nigeria continue to be defined by these same self-destructive politics of nepotism and eternal quest for regional hegemony that have been identified as the bane of our striving for unity and progress? FELIX OGUEJIOFOR ABUGU reports that Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja’s untimely death has made these questions even more poignant
The death of Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, the Nigerian Chief of Army Staff (COAS) has finally ended all the speculations and politics surrounding his ill-health and eventual death. He is the second Chief of Army Staff to die in office since the advent of the APC administration in 2025. Buhari’s Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru had been killed in a plane crash in Kaduna in May 2021, barely four years ago.
Perhaps more importantly, Lagbaja’s death is likely to rekindle the debate about the secretive handling of the health challenges facing Nigerian leaders.
Up until now, Nigerians are unlikely to say with some certainty what illness killed the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, or what ailment took President Buhari out of circulation and practically residing in the UK during his presidency for months on end. Or the State of health of President Bola Tinubu who, it has been speculated, frequently visits France largely for medical check-ups.
At a time his services were most needed as the COAS, what with the nation’s security not abating, the late Lagbaja simply disappeared from the public and there was no official statement explaining his absence until Sahara Reporters, a Nigerian-owned online news platform operating from the US, on or about the 15th of last month, speculated about his illness and possible passing from stage three cancer.
A few days later, the online platform was to report thus: “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.”
And as if to confirm the Lagbaja death speculation and the reason for keeping it secret, reports soon appeared on social media claiming that an Acting Chief of Army Staff had been appointed to stand in for the Lagbaja.
According to the reports, the Defence Headquarters had named Major General Ibrahim Bagudu Abdulsalam Gwazawa, Chief of Policy and Plans NA, as Acting Chief of Army Staff while Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja was on sick leave.
According to a report on legit-ng, an online platform, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, the director of army public relations, made this announcement on Sunday, October 20, while also debunking reports claiming Lagbaja was dead.
Bagudu, who serves as Chief of Policy and Plans, will ensure continuity in the Army’s leadership and operations during Lagbaja’s absence, following established protocols
There had been speculations that Lagbaja’s absence was linked to ill-health, which the army later confirmed but debunked swirling rumours that he had died.
The development expectedly resulted in intense lobbying for Lagbaja’s replacement.
But the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) was later to clarify that there was no appointment of an Acting Chief of Army Staff (COAS) by the Nigerian Armed Forces.
This was stated by Brig.-Gen. Tukur Gusau, the Acting Director of Defence Information, in a release on Monday October 21 in Abuja.
Emphasizing that there was no such appointment, Gusau had disclosed that the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, had spoken with the COAS, Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, only moments earlier, explaining that Lt.-Gen. Lagbaja “is currently on his 2024 annual leave, enjoying a well-deserved rest.”
According to Gusau, “the Nigerian Armed Forces are managed professionally, with all Service Chiefs performing their constitutionally mandated duties.”
Gusau further clarified that Maj.-Gen. Abdulsalam Ibrahim, the Chief of Policy and Plans, “has been providing regular briefings to the COAS in line with standard military procedures.
The DHQ urged the public to ignore baseless rumours about Lagbaja’s ill-health or death, reiterating that “Lt.-Gen. Lagbaja is in good health and will resume his duties after his leave”, warning media outlets to verify their information before spreading “false news.”
Aren’t there laid-down succession rules in the army any longer. Was the matter of who would succeed Lagbaja big enough for the army to lie to the Nigerian public with a dying man’s health? Lagbaja was in good health and would resume his duties after his leave and media outlets should watch the way they spread “false news?” Really? All just because human beings were positioning for a position in which a young man had only just mysteriously died?
Once it came to throw snippets at the media for carrying a report that simply challenged the authorities to come out with the truth about the late COAS’s health status, the public (read the media) withdrew much of its over-taxed attention in crisis-ridden Nigerian society and moved on back to hunger, inflation, petrol price hikes, naira devaluation, insecurity and Tinubu’s overweening nepotism, among several others challenges that dog the Nigerian’s everyday life. In this time and place, there are more than enough things to write about.
But the public’s attention was soon to be drawn back to Lagbaja’s Army. Barely a week after the Army denied the appointment of an Acting Chief of Army Staff (COAS), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as “Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces” announced the appointment of another 56-year-old Yoruba General, Major General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede, as the Acting Chief of Army Staff (COAS), affirming Sahara Reporters’ report that the anoouncement of Lagbaja’s death had been delayed to enable the presidency to deal with the issue of his successor.
Apparently, the north had flown a kite with Ibrahim Bagudu Abdulsalam Gwazawa but the diversity-loathing Tinubu promptly shot it down: a Yoruba must replace Yoruba in PBAT’s hierarchy of appointments.
It is instructive that Lagbaja’s death was announced by the Presidency (shouldn’t that have been done by the Army or the Defence Headquarters?) barely 24 hours after Oluyede was decorated by Tinubu as Lt. General, the same rank as the late Lagbaja.
So, was Sahara Reporters correct about Lagbaja’s passing much earlier than this morning or yesterday or any time within the week?
Whatever the case may be, the point that must be made is that it is high time the authorities began to come clean with the public about the health challenges of public office holders before such office holders are appointed or elected into such public offices. It is an international best practice because a public servant must be healthy to be able to exert himself or herself in the service of the country.
Presidency announces Lagbaja, COAS’s passing at 56
And so, the Presidency, not the defence headquarters, in continuation of the anomalous style President Tinubu has brough to bear on governance, announced the death of General Tahoreed Lagbaja, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), in a statement this morning, (Wednesday, November 6), by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga. The late COAS was 56.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, regrets to announce the passing of Lt. General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, Chief of the Army Staff, at age 56,” the statement read, in part.
“He passed away on Tuesday night in Lagos after a period of illness.
“Born on 28 February 1968, Lt. General Lagbaja was appointed Chief of Army Staff on June 19, 2023, by President Tinubu.
“His distinguished military career began when he enrolled in the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1987. On 19 September 1992, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Nigerian Infantry Corps as a member of the 39th Regular Course.
“Throughout his service, Lt. General Lagbaja demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment, serving as a platoon commander in the 93 Battalion and the 72 Special Forces Battalion.
“He played pivotal roles in numerous internal security operations, including Operation ZAKI in Benue State, Lafiya Dole in Borno, Udoka in Southeast Nigeria, and Operation Forest Sanity across Kaduna and Niger States.
“An alumnus of the prestigious U.S. Army War College, he earned a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies, demonstrating his dedication to professional growth and excellence in military leadership.
“Lt. General Lagbaja is survived by his beloved wife, Mariya, and their two children.
“President Tinubu expresses his heartfelt condolences to the family and the Nigerian Armed Forces during this difficult time. He wishes Lt. General Lagbaja eternal peace and honours his significant contributions to the nation.”
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