A Soldier On A Mission: Lieutenant General Lagbaja by Samuel Aruwan

A Soldier On A Mission: Lieutenant General Lagbaja by Samuel Aruwan

In July 2022, the Nigerian Army, under the leadership of Lt. General Faruk Yahaya, approved the postings and appointments of senior officers as part of efforts to reposition the Army for enhanced operational efficiency.

In that regard, the then Major General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja (at the time the General Officer Commanding, 82 Division) was redeployed to Kaduna as the new GOC of the Premier Division. The outgoing GOC, Major General Kabir Imam Mukhtar, was a very kind, supportive and hardworking senior officer with whom we had hitherto enjoyed a harmonious working relationship, making impressive strides in the campaign against banditry.

General Mukhtar informed me of Lagbaja’s impending arrival while telling me of his own posting to the Nigerian Army Resource Centre as a Fellow. As we exchanged our best wishes, he sent me Lagbaja’s phone number so that we could get acquainted ahead of the handover on the 8th of August, 2022.

Upon his official resumption, I sent General Lagbaja a text. “Greetings and welcome to Kaduna, General.”

Only moments after, Lagbaja called and said, “Well done, my brother! General Mukhtar briefed me about you. We will see when I return from Enugu.”

We met on his return. I have encountered an array of prominent persons, and – call it a journalist’s instinct – I have learned to sense an aura. On that first meeting, General Lagbaja radiated a quiet sincerity and steely resolve. He came across to me as a man on a mission. Also (perhaps on a superstitious note), I found it a bit satisfying that a member of the 39 Regular Course was assuming office as the 39th GOC of 1 Division.

At that first meeting, we had extensive discussions about the bandit attacks on the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Greenfield University, Bethel Baptist School, Nigerian Defence Academy, the Kaduna-Abuja Road, Kaduna-Birnin Gwari Road and the vicinity of the Kaduna International Airport. We also reviewed the security situation in Birnin Gwari, Kidandan, Yadi, Gwagwada, Udawa, Damba Kasaya, Buruku, Riyawa and Sabon Birni general areas and the Southern Kaduna corridor. We surveyed the existing profiles of key bandit kingpins and the terrorists operating in the state at the time. We revisited the developments leading up to the attack on the Kaduna-bound train from Abuja, especially the warning signs and security advisories.

As I wrapped up what would be the first of several meetings with Egbon (as I fondly called him), I was struck by his sincere desire to confront the situation directly. I briefed the then Governor Nasir El-Rufai on the new GOC’s arrival and on the details of our meeting. We then planned his introductory visit to the Governor, after which he commenced work in earnest.

From his first day in Kaduna, General Lagbaja portrayed clearly that he was not an officer given too much talk. He was focused and committed to action. He was a field officer to the core. His commitment to leading from the front was a great source of motivation for the officers and men of his command.

His impact was immediate. In the days following his arrival, the momentum of military efforts against bandits and terrorists was intensified. Operations were sharper and more intelligence-driven on all sides. General Lagbaja had one clear idea, and that was to put bandits and insurgents on the run and not the other way around. He transmitted this energy right through to the fighting forces. Troops advanced to every flashpoint and swept criminal enclaves with relentless ferocity.

This push led to such a flurry of breakthroughs, bandits neutralised, victims rescued, and recoveries made that I could barely keep up with his quick succession of operational feedback.

I recall the rescue of six women around the Kuriga-Manini general area, among several other such operations to free victims held hostage in putrid bandit camps.

The rescue of ten chained hostages after a fierce gun battle at Daban Kwalba was another such breakthrough. The terrorist enclave was destroyed, and many bandits were neutralised.

In early September 2022, we received intelligence of a notorious bandit and his companions moving to attack the Kaduna-Abuja Road. It was Lagbaja’s characteristic lighting response which saw many of those bandits dispatched. The said kingpin himself only escaped by a hair’s breadth.

Lagbaja came to Kaduna with a sense of purpose. He keyed seamlessly into the Government’s dedication and desire to confront banditry, and this birthed a very productive synergy. The exploits I have recounted came merely days after he assumed command.

As a matter of fact, a marked and measurable improvement in the security situation was soon observed across the State. The Kaduna-Abuja Road was previously a nightmare for many travellers; with General Lagbaja’s dedication, it became secure, and commuters could once again travel the route with a normal heart rate.

He also boosted inter-agency collaboration a great deal. This was particularly important as we approached the 2023 elections with its special brand of uncertainty. There were threats by bandits and terrorists aiming to cripple elections in some flashpoint locations like Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Chikun, Igabi, Kachia, Kajuru, Zangon Kataf and other local government areas. There were equally assertions from the usual naysayers that the elections in Kaduna State would be marred with violence.

With this in mind, we embarked on scenario-building from our real-time intelligence collection. This formed the basis for massive covert operations in 2022, spilling into 2023.

We devised clear plans for different areas. The military responded promptly, supporting the police from the rear to address challenges before and during the campaigns, during elections, and, of course, after. Multidimensional threats were quelled, and with Lagbaja’s exceptional operational capability, Kaduna remained peaceful. Bear in mind he was also supervising Kano, Niger and Jigawa States. All the states under his Area of Responsibility (AOR) were calm, contrary to the dark predictions.

In some of my engagements with General Lagbaja, we discussed the government’s intelligence-gathering efforts on the threat of banditry and terrorism in Kaduna State following the train attack in March of 2022. We had made several trips to foster collaboration with other states and to build a better understanding of the links between bandits and other networks. He gratefully took in the findings which I shared with him.

Indeed, after the train attack, the military high command deployed the 402 Special Forces Brigade to Kaduna under the leadership of Brigadier General EU Effiong, another diligent officer. He, in turn, led two Commanding Officers (Lieutenant Colonel Manga and Lieutenant Colonel Ali, now of blessed memory) in charge of the 198 and 134 Special Forces Battalions. These were eventually boosted by the arrival of the 167 Special Forces Battalion from Giri led by Major TE Ezonfade and DHQ Special Forces led by Major SA Oni of blessed memory.

These formations were now part of General Lagbaja’s machinery as GOC and Force Commander. Added to these were the ground and air components of Operation Whirl Punch (from the repurposed and revamped Operation Thunder Strike), as well as a smooth collaborative platform with other security agencies. This system was buoyed by the robust human intelligence network we had built over time.

Lagbaja utilised these tools with aplomb. By 12th August 2022, only four days after his resumption, troops under his command had advanced to a terrorist enclave at the Galbi general area of Chikun LGA.

An initial surge of resistance was surmounted, and the troops crossed a river to overpower their adversary. Thirteen of the terrorists were taken out. A significant stash of arms and several motorcycles were recovered from the lair.

Lagbaja’s uncommon work ethic was in full flow. At about that time, I was scheduled to meet with him – precisely at 3:00 PM on 14th August 2022 – to review some new intelligence. Somehow, I could not reach him on the phone. I would later find out he had gleefully spent the night with the troops who had recorded the success at Galbi. It was in the afternoon of 15th August 2022 that I got his message:

“Good afternoon, Hon Commissioner. I’m just leaving Galbi and arriving in Gwagwada now. Please let’s meet in my office by 1100 hrs tomorrow.” This man had been in the bush destroying bandit camps with his troops.

Shortly after I got his message, however, I received another piece of credible intelligence about some bandits moving to attack the Kasarami portion of the Kaduna-Abuja Road. Aware that Lagbaja was in that vicinity, I quickly forwarded the details of the intel to him. Making a swift detour, he led his troops to the location, and it became a bumper harvest as the bandits walked right into their ambush and were wiped out. We quickly agreed that the breakthrough should not be publicised, in the belief that more bandits with similar designs might be likewise eliminated. Troops were strategically and discreetly positioned at notable crossing points on the route.

By early April 2023, we were cruising, and our work was prolific. Lagbaja had his ebullient and no-nonsense Garrison Commander, Brigadier General Chibueze Ogbuabo. Together, we were consolidating the success and improved security during and after the elections. Then came the news that Lagbaja had been posted out to the Army Headquarters as Chief of Operations. In a straight swap, the Chief of Operations, Major General Olufemi Akinjobi, would move to Kaduna to succeed him as GOC. We knew it was the nature of the job. Nevertheless, we were quite emotional to find that our brief but rewarding time was drawing to an end. General Lagbaja had won the hearts and minds of citizens in frontline areas with his reputation as an action man. Moreso, out of our ready partnership, we had grown a firm friendship.

Even with this development, he never slowed down. In the days leading up to his exit from Kaduna, Lagbaja recorded more feats that I can recount here. A high-profile gunrunner was intercepted on the Polewire axis of Kaduna-Birnin Gwari Road with more than 2000 rounds of various grades of ammunition (along with five empty AK-47 magazines) concealed in different compartments of a Toyota Corolla.

In another intelligence-driven operation, a notorious bandit and two of his foot soldiers were taken out around the Kaduna International Airport general area.

In the 249 days, General Lagbaja spent as GOC 1 Division and Force Commander of Operation Whirl Punch, 147 armed criminals were taken out in the course of contact with security forces across the state. These include several notorious bandits. When added to the scores neutralised by the air component, that statistic will nearly double.

The operations coordinated by Lagbaja also resulted in the rescue of 210 kidnapped victims from various camps, enclaves and frontline locations. His troops made tremendous recoveries in that period as they decimated hideout after hideout: over 100 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition and scores of motorcycles.

Essentially, General Lagbaja brought a unique energy to anti-banditry and anti-terrorism operations in Kaduna State. His style could be likened to a “high press”; taking the battle to the criminals and constantly setting them on the back foot. The heat of Lagbaja’s high-intensity operations also pressurised several notable terrorists into surrender.

After Lagbaja left Kaduna and resumed as Chief of Operations at the Army Headquarters, I paid him a visit on 20th April 2023. As usual, we had a good conversation, and I thanked him for all that he had done for the security and peace of Kaduna State. We kept in touch until he was appointed the Chief of Army Staff on 19th June 2023, alongside the Chief of Defence Staff and other service chiefs.

On assumption of what would be his final office, the delegation from Kaduna State led by Governor Uba Sani was the first to visit the Defence Headquarters to felicitate with the CDS and the newly minted service chiefs. For us, it was a great day spent with the Army Chief as he espoused his Command Philosophy of transforming the Nigerian Army into a well-trained, equipped, and highly effective force to fulfil its constitutional responsibilities in a joint environment.

Some months later, we went through a very trying experience with the unfortunate Tudun Biri error bombing, which occurred on 3rd December 2023. While managing the tragic situation, I was in touch with Lagbaja all through that night until he arrived at Tudun Biri. Later on, we had a meeting at the lounge of the Kaduna International Airport.

Amidst the collective tension of planning an effective response and evacuation of the wounded to the hospital, General Lagbaja requested that I introduce him to the stakeholders we had assembled. He spoke with them and appreciated their interventions. It was a similar scenario when the Kuriga school kidnapping occurred in March 2024. Once again, we worked frantically together until the abducted children were secured. The GOC 1 Division, Major General MLD Saraso, handed over the pupils to Governor Uba Sani.

I recall our outing at the Nigerian Army Combat Arms Week. In my remarks on behalf of Governor Sani, I stated how proud and privileged I felt to have worked with two General Officers Commanding (GOCs) of 1 Division who eventually became Chiefs of Army Staff (Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya and, of course, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja). Much more than the effusive applause of those present, I came to value that moment as one in which I publicly gave him his flowers.

Our last engagement before he took ill was in connection with the protests in August. General Lagbaja followed events in Kaduna studiously and also forwarded some key feedback before the 24-hour curfew imposed by Governor Sani, which gave security forces an edge. We did not get to meet at the Nigerian Defence Academy’s Passing Out Parade in September. Still, I kept in contact with him, earnestly praying for his recovery. Sadly, it was not to be. God called the General to rest last week.

Lieutenant General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja was indeed a man on a mission, a mission to lead. And truly, he led his beloved Nigerian Army the one way he knew how: from the front. With his quiet sincerity, commitment and steely determination, he left his mark, I am grateful to point out, very strongly on the security landscape of Kaduna State.

It is said that the blood of battle is thicker than the water of the womb. My time with General TA Lagbaja in Kaduna, in the heated crucible of security management, brought us together in a brief but veritable brotherhood. In this greyness of grief, I am grateful for the friendship he so readily extended. I mourn the passing of not just an outstanding military leader but of my Egbon. All too soon, his watch is over, but Nigeria will not forget this General. Neither will Kaduna State. And nor, for that matter, will I.

Regrettably, I am unable to physically condole with his family, being sick and on admission myself at the time of writing.

May Lieutenant General TA Lagbaja’s soul rest in peace. May God reward his works and bless his legacy.

Aruwan served as the Kaduna State Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs previously.