Claim: Chief of Army Staff dies of cancer
Source: Jackson Ude / X
Verdict: False
Researched by Hamza Ibrahim
Viral claims shared by Nigerian X users have suggested the country’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen.Taoreed Lagbaja has died abroad while receiving treatment for stage three cancer.
FactSpace Nigeria’s investigation revealed that Jackson Ude (@jacksonpbn), a popular government critic, was the first to share the claim on October 20, 2024, before it went viral.
“CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF DIES OF CANCER The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has died. Lagbaja died in an undisclosed hospital overseas nearly 48hrs ago from a stage three Cancer, according to a senior Government official,” his post read in part.
We observed that the post had amassed significant interactions – reshared 531 times, viewed by over 146,000 users and received more than 200 comments.
Most people who quoted the tweet credited Ude for the information while accusing the army of being silent over the issue.
This report seeks to verify the accuracy of the claim.
Fact-check
The Nigerian Army debunked the claim of the death of the Chief of Army Staff via its official X account on October 20.
The Army’s official handle posted a screenshot of the claim as shared by Jackson with a “Fake News” label slapped across it.
To deepen the claim of Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja’s death, another claim emerged that Defence Headquarters had appointed an acting Chief of Army Staff ostensibly to replace Lagbaja.
That claim was also debunked and labelled as “Fake News.”
The Defence Headquarters, through their official handle @DefenceInfoNG posted a statement on X: “PRESS RELEASE: DHQ CLARIFIES: No Appointment of Acting COAS; Calls For Military Coup Is Treasonable,” the heading stated.
Verdict
FactSpace Nigeria’s investigation shows that the claim that Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja had died is False.
