Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja on Wednesday paid a condolence visit to Dorothy Alli, wife of the late former COAS, Maj.-Gen. Chris Alli at his Osborne Foreshore Estate residence in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Lagbaja led some top officials of the Nigerian Army on the visit, a statement by the army’s spokesman Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu said.
The army chief presented a bouquet of flowers to the widow and signed the condolence register in honour of Alli.
During the visit, the COAS described Alli’s demise as shocking and a colossal loss not only to the Nigerian Army, but to the entire Armed Forces of Nigeria and the nation at large.
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He extolled the virtues of the late COAS, describing him as an astute, forthright and visionary military leader, whose significant contributions to the development of the Nigerian Army and the defence of the nation, remained undiluted in the institutional memory of the service.
Lagbaja said that the army would work with the family of the deceased to accord him a befitting burial, assuring the family of the army’s support whenever it was needed.
Responding on behalf of the family of the late COAS, retired Capt. Shuaibu Salawana expressed appreciation to the COAS and the army for the timely condolence visit and concerns for the bereaved family.
Alli died on November 19 aged 79 after a brief illness at the Military Hospital Lagos.
