Nigeria’s army chief, who led the country through one of Africa’s longest conflicts, dies at 56

Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — 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. 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,” President Bola Tinubu said in a statement Wednesday issued by his office without elaborating further. The late army chief — who was 56 — had not been seen in public in nearly two months, fueling rumors about his death, which the Nigerian army first denied more than two weeks ago.