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Tag: General Taoreed Lagbaja

  • I regretted obtaining NDA form for late Lagbaja, says family head

    I regretted obtaining NDA form for late Lagbaja, says family head

    Pa Tajudeen Lagbaja, the Head of Family of the late Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, said he regretted obtaining Nigeria Defence Academic(NDA) form for the deceased. 

    He said he wouldn’t have obtained the form for the late COAS if he knew his life would be cut short. 

    Other family members alleged Lagbaja was killed diabolically because of a land dispute in his Ilobu hometown. 

    The Nation recalls that there was dispute in Ilobu, headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area of Osun State in 2023 when delegates of Nigeria Army planned to establish an hospital in the community. 

    Pa Tajudeen Lagbaja, The younger brother of late COAS’s father, told The NATION he obtained the NDA form for the late Lieutenant General. 

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    The distraught family head said: “Everyone who is born must die. We give glory to God. The year, that I obtained NDA form for him, if I had known that he would die before me, I would have not done so. I regret obtaining the form for him. But it is destiny. 

    “The death that killed Taoreed Lagbaja ought to take me, his father’s younger brother. I took him as one of my children, we are greatly bereaved, we are sad. He constructed borehole in his father’s compound and other places of the community. 

    “We can never forget him, his death is so shocking to us. I have accepted fate. All the promises he made to me have hit brick wall. He always give us hope in the family despite the sorrow, I give thanks to God.”

    Al family member simply named Madam Toyin alleged that he was killed diabolically because of land dispute in the community. 

  • Security challenges: COAS Lagbaja charges Commanding Officers to brace up training

    Security challenges: COAS Lagbaja charges Commanding Officers to brace up training

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, has urged Commanding Officers to maintain and enhance the training of troops to effectively address the current security challenges facing the nation.

    He emphasized the importance of each officer fulfilling their responsibilities in the different operational zones across the country.

    He said: “It is a fact that the fight against kidnapping, smuggling, pipeline vandalism, banditry, terrorism, secessionist movements and other forms of insecurity confronting our dear country is multi-dimensional and complex.”

    Lagbaja made the remarks in Sokoto on Tuesday, March 12, in his keynote address as a special guest of honour at the opening of the 2024 1st Commanding Officers Workshop hosted by the Nigerian Army 8 Division Headquarters, Giginya Barracks, Sokoto.

    He added: “It is important to note that you are key players in this resolve. The workshop will also serve as an avenue to compare notes and exchange ideas with one another on practical experiences gained in the conduct of various Internal Security Operations as well improve.”

    According to Lagbaja, the response of the NA to the security challenges has been robust, holistic, and dynamic while observing that the myriads of security challenges facing the country required urgent and pragmatic solutions to eradicate or bring them to the lowest ebb.

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    He pointed out that the workshop with the theme: ‘‘Enhancing Tactical Level Command and Leadership within a Joint Environment”, was designed to equip mid-cadre commanders with requisite skills and competencies.

    “It is to further position them better for the onerous tasks that are associated with military duties especially now that the Nigerian Army is at the vanguard of confronting increasingly complex operational exigencies that require robust contemporary command and leadership disposition.

    “It is equally an opportunity to drive home my command philosophy which is “To Transform the Nigerian Army into a well-trained Equipped and Highly Motivated Force Towards Achieving our Constitutional Responsibilities within a Joint Environment.

    He said the initiative would strengthen and provide a platform and space for commanding officers to broaden their professional knowledge, and enhance administrative and operational competencies hence the responsibility of tackling the contemporary security challenges facing the country at tactical levels fall on their shoulders.