By Augustine Ehikioya
The Acting Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede has paid a condolence visit to Mrs Mariya Lagbaja and other family members of the late Lieutenant General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja.
Lagbaja, who was Nigeria’s 23rd Chief of Army Staff, had passed away on Tuesday 5th November, 2024 after a brief illness.
Gen Oluyede paid the condolence on Wednesday 6 November 2024, at the Flag Staff House, Niger Barracks Abuja.
He was accompanied by Principal Staff Officers of the Army Headquarters, Corps Commanders, and General Officers Commanding of the Nigerian Army.
Paying tribute to the late COAS, Gen Oluyede, in a statement by Director Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, extolled his gallantry, dedication, and legacies throughout his service years in the Nigerian Army and the Armed Forces of Nigeria in general.
In a succinct message penned in the condolence register opened in honour of the late COAS, the Acting COAS stated, “It is with a huge sense of loss, albeit responsibility that I, on behalf of the officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army commiserate with Mrs Mariya Lagbaja, the children and the entire Lagbaja clan over the passing of our dogged, gallant and extremely dedicated leader Lieutenant General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja (Nigerian Army Medal) the Chief of Army Staff of the Nigerian Army. Lt Gen Lagbaja, without doubt, gave his all to the service of our dear nation.
“This was evident in his dedication to duty and the legacies he has left behind. We only take solace in the fact that we cannot in any way querry the Almighty.
“We surely owe him a whole lot. Rest in peace, our leader and hero. You will surely be missed. ”
It would be recalled that the Late Lieutenant General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja was on 19 June 2023 appointed Chief of Army Staff by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and fully assumed command of the Nigerian Army as the 23rd COAS on 23 June 2023.
A seasoned Infantry officer, the late General Lagbaja, was commissioned in 1992 as a member of the 39 Regular Combatant Course of the prestigious Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna.
He distinguished himself as a Special Forces Commander and a military leader per excellence who held several appointments in the course of his exemplary military career. Late General Lagbaja served as General Officer Commanding 82 and 1 Divisions of the Nigerian Army in Enugu and Kaduna, respectively.
He also commanded 9 Brigade Ikeja and 2 Brigade Uyo as well as 72 Special Forces Battalion on two separate tours of duty. Prior to his assumption of command of the Nigerian Army as the 23rd Chief of Army Staff, he was the Chief of Operations (Army), where he coordinated all the operational activities of the Nigerian Army. As the then Chief of Army Staff, he worked assiduously to defeat terrorism, banditry, and other security challenges experienced across the nation.
