Late Army Chief, Lagbaja, For Burial Today

The late Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, will be buried at the National Military Cemetery today.

His body arrived at the Air Force Wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at around 12:16 p.m. from Lagos, yesterday, and a service of songs was conducted in the evening.

The Service of Songs was held at Mogadishu Cantonment yesterday, and the interment will take place this afternoon.

According to the burial programme released by the director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, Lagbaja will be buried at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja today.

Meanwhile, members of the Nigerian Defence Academy’s 39 Regular Course described the late Army Chief, Lt-Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, as an extraordinary military leader.

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The Commander of the Training and Doctrine Command, Major General Kelvin Aligbe, stated this at the Service of Songs ceremony held in honour of the late COAS in Abuja on Thursday.

Aligbe, speaking on behalf of the 39 Regular Course, noted that it was no wonder Lagbaja was the only officer to command a battalion twice.

Reflecting on their shared journey, Aligbe recalled their commissioning as part of the 39 Regular Course on 12 September 1987, when 199 officer cadets began training to join the armed forces.

He added that Lagbaja stood out as a natural leader from the beginning.

He said, “On the 12th of September, 1987, I, then officer cadet Taoreed Lagbaja, and 199 others assembled for training as members of the 39 regular course. We trained and were commissioned together into the armed forces. Right from the start, he led without question. He was, above all, an operational commander.

“It’s little wonder that, while command opportunities in the services can be rare, he was privileged to be the only person, if memory serves, to have commanded a battalion on two separate occasions. He commanded brigades twice as well and served as a general commanding officer twice.”

He urged the military community to embody the values of service and dedication that Lagbaja held dear.

Aligbe said, “He was primed for the operations he led, through which, though they say soldiers don’t die, his memory may fade. The only way my coursemates and the other members of the armed forces – officers and soldiers he left behind – can truly honour his memory is to continue what he believed in. He believed in the indivisibility of Nigeria.

“He believed in service. He gave everything, and, at the risk of sounding immodest, I wonder if we gave him enough.”