The Chief of Army Staff, (COAS) Lt. General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, has passed on.

This was confirmed in a press release made available on Wednesday by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President.

The statement reads, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, expressed profound sadness over the passing of Lt. General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, Chief of the Army Staff, at age 56.”

According to journalists, the late Chief of Army Staff was born on February 28, 1968, and was appointed Chief of Army Staff on June 19, 2023, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to succeed Lieutenant General Frank Yahaya.

His service history includes numerous leadership roles in critical security operations such as Operation ZAKI in Benue, Lafiya Dole in Borno, and Forest Sanity across Kaduna and Niger States.