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

Spring is usually when bugs start to mate, so now is the time to keep them away.
Noah Farley
Spring is usually when bugs start to mate, so now is the time to keep them away.

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.

Article Topic Follows: AP National

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