By Ishaya Ibrahim
Amid rumour that late Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja was poisoned to death by some “military cabal with sinister motives, the head of the Lagbaja’s family, Pa Tajudeen Lagbaja, has added another twist to the tale. He said he regrets buying the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA) form with which the late General enrolled into the Army.
According to the publisher of Point Blank News, Jackson Ude, Lagbaja was poisoned. He, however, did not provide evidence to support the claim.
Meanwhile, a report by The Nation Newspaper quoted some family members who alleged that Lt. General Lagbaja may have been killed through diabolical means due to a land dispute in his hometown.
According to the report, in 2023 a dispute arose in Ilobu, the headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area in Osun State, when representatives of the Nigerian Army planned to establish a hospital in the community.
But Pa Tajudeen said he regretted obtaining the NDA form for the late Lieutenant General.
“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 not have done so. I regret obtaining the form for him. But it is destiny.
“The death that killed Taoreed Lagbaja ought to take me. I took him as one of my children. We are greatly bereaved, we are sad. He constructed a borehole in his father’s compound and other places in the community.
“We can never forget him, his death is so shocking to us. I have accepted the fate, all the promises he made to me have hit a brick wall. He always gave us hope in the family, despite the sorrow, I give thanks to God,” the family head said.
