The Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja, is dead.
This was confirmed in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President, Bayo Onanuga, on Wednesday.
"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.
Here are 8 things to know late COAS Lagbaja:
1. Lagbaja was born on February 28, 1968, in Ilobu, Irepodun Local Government Area, Osun State. He spent his early years in Osogbo, where he attended St. Charles Grammar School and the Local Authority Teachers College.
2. He was admitted to the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1987 as part of the 39th Regular Course. On September 19, 1992, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Nigerian Infantry Corps.
3. He earned a bachelor's degree in geography from the Nigerian Defence Academy and went on to pursue a master's degree in strategic studies at the US Army War College.
4. He served as an instructor at the Nigerian Defence Academy from 2001 to 2004, as a Grade 2 Staff Officer in charge of peacekeeping at Army Headquarters, and as a Directing Staff at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College from 2006 to 2009.
5. In 2008, he attended the Military Observers Course at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Jaji (February-May) and the ECOWAS Standby Force Battalion Command Post Course at the Peacekeeping Centre in Bamako, Mali (June-August 2010).
6. He held command positions in several military operations, including Operation HARMONY IV in the Bakassi Peninsula, the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Operation ZAKI.
7. He was appointed as Chief of Army Staff by President Bola Tinubu on June 19, 2023.
8. Lt. General Lagbaja is survived by his beloved wife, Mariya, and two children.
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