Pa Tajudeen Lagbaja, head of the family of the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, has shared deep regret over obtaining the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) form for his late nephew, reflecting on the tragic loss that has shaken the family.
Pa Tajudeen, the younger brother of the late COAS’s father, said he would never have taken the step if he had known it would lead to such an untimely end.
“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,” he told The Nation.
Some family members have speculated that Lt. General Lagbaja’s death may have been tied to diabolical forces, potentially linked to a land dispute in his hometown of Ilobu, Irepodun Local Government Area in Osun State.
In 2023, tensions surfaced when representatives of the Nigerian Army proposed establishing a hospital in the area.
Reflecting on the sorrow and the contributions of the late Lt. General Lagbaja, Pa Tajudeen added, “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.”
Despite the grief and a sense of unfulfilled promises, Pa Tajudeen expressed gratitude for Lagbaja’s legacy, saying, “He always gave us hope in the family, despite the sorrow, I give thanks to God.”
