THE Nigerian Army has dismissed the rumoured death of the chief of army staff (COAS), Taoreed Lagbaja.
The rumour, which has gone viral, originated from a tweet by Jackson Ude, a former presidential aide and social media commentator.
Reacting to the tweet in a post on X, the Army spokesperson, Onyema Nwachukwu, a brigadier general, urged Nigerians to ignore the post.
He said Lagbaja was on official leave, and proper procedures were put in place for Abdulsalami Ibrahim, a major general and the chief of policy and plans of the Army, to act in his place.
Nwachukwu argued that Lagbaja’s absence was not disrupting the Army’s operations.
“There have even been insinuations that there is a leadership vacuum, with officers confused about what to do. Nothing could be further from the truth.
“To be very clear, the Nigerian Army is a highly structured establishment with well-laid-out procedures and processes for dealing with different circumstances. Before proceeding on leave, necessary protocols were put in place for the chief of policy and pans (Army), major general Abdulsalami Bagudu Ibrahim, to act on behalf of the COAS while he was away.
“This is not peculiar to the NA, as there have been instances where unforeseen human frailty kept service chiefs away for about three months, and their chiefs of policy and plans held sway in their absence. Claims of a leadership vacuum in the NA at present are therefore mere speculation, as all routine and scheduled activities of the service are on course.” he said.
Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org