President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima were among other top government functionaries present as the late Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Toareed Lagbaja, 56, was laid to rest in Abuja on Friday.
The Nigerian military committed his remains to Mother Earth at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja on Friday.
A funeral service was held in his honour at the National Christian Centre Abuja, earlier before interment.
Joining the president and his vice were the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, Service Chiefs, family members of the deceased, heads of security agencies, among others dignitaries.
The remains of the COAS had arrived in Abuja on Thursday after which a Service of Songs was held in his honour at the parade ground of the Army Headquarters Garrison, Mogadishu Barracks, Abuja.
Lagbaja, who died on November 5, according to the federal government suffered from a prolonged undisclosed ailment.
Rumoured to have died earlier, the federal government announced his death 24 hours after decorating an acting COAS, Lt.-Gen Olufemi Oluyede.
This development suggested preparation for the announcement of Lagbaja’s long-speculated death.
Born on February 28, 1968, Lt. General Lagbaja was appointed Chief of Army Staff on June 19, 2023, by President Tinubu.
He began his military career in 1992 and rose through the ranks to the pinnacle of his profession. In his 32-year-old career, he occupied some crucial positions.
Lagbaja enrolled in the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1987. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Nigerian Infantry Corps, as a member of the 39th Regular Course, on September 19, 1992.
Throughout his service, Lt. General Lagbaja demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment, serving as a platoon commander in the 93 Battalion and the 72 Special Forces Battalion.
The president while announcing his death said the late COAS played pivotal roles in numerous internal security operations, including Operation ZAKI in Benue State, Lafiya Dole in Borno, Udoka in Southeast Nigeria, and Operation Forest Sanity across Kaduna and Niger states.
“An alumnus of the prestigious U.S. Army War College, he earned a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies, demonstrating his dedication to professional growth and excellence in military leadership.
“Lt. General Lagbaja is survived by his beloved wife, Mariya, and their two children,” the president said.
The death of Lagbaja marks the second big loss recorded by the military in over three years.
In May 2021, the Army lost its COAS, Ibrahim Attahiru, in a plane crash in Kaduna State.
Attahiru died alongside 10 others in an aircraft billed to land at the Nigerian Air Force Base in the Mando area of Kaduna before it diverted and attempted to land at the Kaduna International Airport.
