The Nigerian Army on Sunday refuted reports circulating that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has passed away.

Several reports, originating from a social media post by a Nigerian journalist, announced the death of the Army chief, which quickly went viral.

The journalist claimed that Lagbaja had died of cancer 48 hours earlier.

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 death of the Chief of Army Staff has been kept secret due to intense lobbying by some generals who wish to take the position.

“Lagbaja, born on 28 February 1968 in Ilobu, Osun State, was appointed by President Bola Tinubu in June 2023 as the 27th Chief of Army Staff.”

However, sources at the Army Headquarters confirmed to PUNCH correspondent that the Army Chief was critically ill.

One source stated, “The COAS is not dead. He is only critically ill at the moment. We should be praying for him at this critical time and not spreading rumours of his death.”

Another source said that he had travelled abroad for medical treatment.

“He is out of the country for treatment. I have not heard of his death from anyone close to him. There is no way such information could be hidden.”

The phone number of the Director of Army Public Relations, Maj. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu was switched off, and he had yet to respond to a message sent to him regarding the matter.