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SEE list of COAS who died in active service
Nigeria mourns the loss of its Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, who passed away on Tuesday in Lagos after a brief illness.
His untimely death, coming just a year after his appointment by President Bola Tinubu, has sent waves of shock across the nation.
This sorrowful incident is the third time a Chief of Army Staff has died while in office, marking yet another painful chapter in Nigeria’s history of military leadership losses.
Below are the former Chiefs of Army Staff who met a similar fate while serving in office:
Joseph Akahan (August 1967)
Joseph Akahan, appointed as Army Chief at the age of 30, assumed the role shortly before the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War in 1967. Following a visit to the frontlines in Nsukka, he returned briefly to his hometown in Gboko to rest.
Tragically, on his way back to Makurdi, the helicopter he was traveling in crashed, resulting in his death along with those of the two pilots on board.
Attahiru Ibrahim (May 21, 2021)
Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, appointed as Chief of Army Staff in January 2021 to succeed Tukur Buratai, tragically passed away just months into his tenure. His appointment, along with those of other service chiefs—Lucky Irabor as Chief of Defence Staff, Zubairu Gambo as Chief of Naval Staff, and Isiaka Amao as Chief of Air Staff—came amid mounting pressure for new military leadership due to rising security challenges.
While on an official assignment from Abuja to Kaduna, Attahiru’s aircraft encountered severe weather conditions, resulting in a crash that claimed his life along with those of 10 members of his entourage.
Taoreed Lagbaja (November 5, 2024)
Lagbaja, a graduate of the U.S. Army War College, was commissioned into the Nigerian Army in 1992. Prior to his appointment as Chief of Army Staff on June 19, 2023, he served as a platoon commander with the 93 Battalion and later with the 72 Special Forces Battalion.
He was instrumental in several internal security operations, including Operation ZAKI in Benue State, Lafiya Dole in Borno, Udoka in the Southeast, and Operation Forest Sanity across Kaduna and Niger States.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga announced that the Army chief passed away in Lagos following a brief illness. His position has now been filled by Olufemi Oluyede, his classmate from the Nigerian Defence Academy, who was appointed acting Chief of Army Staff last Wednesday amid Lagbaja’s prolonged indisposition.
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FG panel blames poor maintenance for grid collapses
The Federal Government has revealed that a poor maintenance culture and inadequate and aged equipment, among other challenges, are the underlying reasons for the incessant multiple collapses of the national power grid witnessed in recent months.
It also stated that the high voltage of electricity surpassing the capacity of its equipment caused the blackout witnessed on October 14 and 19, 2024.
The Chairman of the investigative committee probing reasons for grid collapse, Nafisatu Asabe Ali, revealed this during the report presentation at ministry headquarters on Wednesday in Abuja.
This came barely 24 hours after the latest collapse that occurred on Tuesday, making it the 10th time the national grid would collapse in 2024 alone.
According to her, the investigative team observed similar challenges and problems affecting all stations during its probe.
She said the investigative team examined the grid collapse incident that occurred on October 14 and 19 and found out that the shattering of lightning arrestors in Jebba and Oshogbo transmission stations and the explosion of a CT also in Jebba Station were reasons for both incidents.
According to her, “For the event on the 14th, lightning arrestors in Jebba and Oshogbo shattered. The one in Jebba was for the shunt reactor and this was caused by high voltage. Subsequently, we had the tripping of multiple 330kV lines. It kept going until it became major.
“The remote cause of that is the unavailability of the second reactor in Jebba, and that is because Jebba, by the design of the network and sometimes the topology of the network at a particular time is very prone to high voltage.”
We had two shunt reactors in Jebba before this event, however, one packed up. It is faulty, and so the voltage rose to about 400KV, which is beyond the threshold. High voltage degrades equipment insulation.
“If you expose equipment to high voltages for a long time, it degrades the insulation. And, of course, there’s a risk of failure. So, that was a remote cause for that. But the underlying causes are aged equipment. In our findings, we confirmed that Jebba was commissioned in 1968. Some of the equipment was commissioned alongside the substation. So, aged equipment. And maintenance culture is also an issue.”
The committee listed several factors affecting the management including vandalism of power infrastructures, lack of free governors at power generation plants, uncoordinated maintenance schedules, and lack of adequate human capacity.
Responding to this, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said the ministry would push for additional funding from the 2024 Supplementary Budget and the 2025 Appropriation Bill to resolve the financial implications of strategies needed to curb the incessant grid collapse.
He expressed optimism that the frequent collapses of the Nigerian power grid system could be curbed with the implementation of far-reaching reforms, stating that “this incessant grid collapse, which is quite unfortunate and is worrisome to me personally as the Honorable Minister of Power overseeing this sector.”
Adelabu added that he would present an amended report to aid his submission to Tinubu owing to the financial implications.
He said, “Today’s meeting is to receive a report on the agency committee set up about two and a half weeks ago, to reveal the root cause of the incessant grid disturbances that we have experienced in the past few months. This is not good for us as a country. It is not good for us as a power sector. It is not good for us as a ministry of power and other agencies.”
The committee also listed recommendations for the audit and tests of existing equipment and improvement in maintenance of the transmission equipment and lines, installation of harmonics filters by Disco and Genco customers, decentralisation of TCN central store, enforcement of Free Governor Mode of Operation and removal of ad-lash taped optic fibre for Optical Ground Wires.
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Simon Ekpa writes Finland President over Biafra Declaration
The Simon Ekpa-led Biafra Republic Government In-Exile has written to Finland President, Alexander Stubb over the group’s announced Biafra declaration convention.
Ekpa, in a statement on Wednesday through X, noted that the letter of intent was presented on Monday to Finland’s President, Alexander Stubb.
According to Ekpa, the letter detailed justifications on why the Biafra declaration is a recipe for peace in Nigeria and the Sahel region of Africa.
“The letter of intent informed the Finland President to support the Biafra Independence Declaration because it is a recipe for peace in the Sahel Region,” Ekpa wrote on his official X account.
“The Government of Biafra is contacting you to inform you about the overall aims and goals of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile and its international legal personality, and the pending restoration of the United States of Biafra under the auspices of an internationally recognised referendum to be concluded the last week of November 2024.
“Unlike other secessionist governments in Africa before and since, Biafra was recognised by five United Nations member states,” the letter reads in part.
This comes amid the increased agitation for Biafra independence in the past years.
Ekpa had announced that from November 29 to 3rd, 2024, Biafra independence will be declared in a convention in Finland.
Recall that Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has been under detention since 2021 over Biafra agitation.
Efforts and appeals from several Igbo leaders for his freedom have not yielded fruit.
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