Army chief who was leading Nigeria through lengthy war, dies at 56

President said Lt. Gen. Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja died following 'a period of illness'

Nigeria’s army chief who led soldiers through a critical period in the fight against Islamic extremists in the West African nation’s hard-hit northeast has died, President Bola Tinubu said Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, who served as army chief since June 2023, died Tuesday night in Nigeria’s economic hub of Lagos after a “period of illness,” Tinubu said in a statement issued by his office without elaborating further. Lagbaja was 56.