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Claim: Several Facebook users claimed that the Nigerian army chief of staff, Taoreed Lagbaja, has died.
Verdict: FALSE. The Army headquarters denied the claim and credible media platforms confirmed that the general is still alive, although receiving treatment.
Full Text
The Nigerian military has received commendations and condemnations for their conduct less than 18 months after Taoreed Lagbaja assumed office as the army’s 27th chief of staff (COAS) on June 19, 2023.
However, his noticeable absence from important events like the 2024 Independence Day celebration and the combined passing out parade of the 71 Regular Course graduates from the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) has sparked controversies over his health.
On Oct. 20, 2024, an X user, Jackson Ude, claimed that Mr Lagbaja, a lieutenant general, had died of cancer.
The post read, “The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has died. Lagbaja died in an undisclosed hospital overseas nearly 48 hours ago from stage three cancer, according to a senior government official.”
The claim has also gone viral on Facebook, as found here, here and here.
The claim’s tendency to cause public panic prompted DUBAWA to fact-check the information.
Verification
We checked the verified X account of the Nigerian Army and found a screenshot of the claim watermarked with “Fake News,” which debunked it as of 6:16 p.m. on Oct. 20, 2024. Several credible media platforms have also debunked the viral claim, such as here, here, and here.
In a statement signed on Oct. 19, 2024, by the army’s public relations director, Onyema Nwachukwu, Lagbaja is attending to his health while on leave. He said the Chief of Policy and Plans, Abdulsalam Ibrahim, a major general, was in charge of affairs in the COAS absence.
Conclusion
Though several media reports indicate that Taoreed Lagbaja, the Nigerian Chief of Army Staff, is in a worrying health condition, viral claims of his death are false.
