The Nigerian Army has dismissed rumours about the death of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja,  describing it as “fake News”.
There has been a swirl of news on social media about the possible death of the Army Chief barely twenty-four hours after the army formally acknowledged that he was sick and had been flown abroad for medical attention.
A tweet by a Nigerian journalist, Jackson Ude on his X (formerly Twitter) handle that the Army chief died forty-eight hours earlier forced the Nigerian Army to issue a rebuttal.
Jackson Ude had tweeted that “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”.
But in a tweet through its official X handle, @HQNigerianArmy, the army described the tweet by Mr Ude as “Fake News”. It did not offer further explanation.