With the death of Lt General Taoreed Lagbaja on Tuesday 5th November 2024 , Nigeria has lost two Chief of Army Staff within three years
On Friday 21 May 2021 , former Nigeria's army chief, Lt-Gen Ibrahim Attahiru, was killed in a plane crash in the north-western state of Kaduna
The incident happened as the plane was trying to land in bad weather, the military said.
Ten other officers, including the plane's crew also died.
The then President Muhammadu Buhari said he was "deeply saddened" by the crash.
Gen Attahiru, 54, only took up his post on January 2021 in an overhaul of the military's top brass.
It was part of the government's plan to boost the military's efficiency in fighting a more than decade-long jihadist insurgency.
The Nigerian Air Force said the incident happened as the plane was landing at Kaduna International Airport.
The crash came three months to the day after a Nigerian military plane crashed short of a runway in the capital Abuja, killing all seven people on board too
Gen Lagbaja on his part according to a press statement from the Presidency died in Lagos after a brief illness
Lt Gen Oluyede has been appointed the Acting Chief of Army Staff in his stead before the current tragedy
Gen Lagbaja was appointed on 19 June 2023 by President Bola Tinubu to succeed Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya rtd