A top Nigerian military officer, Major-General John Olu Irefin, has been reported dead from Covid-19 complications.
Until his death, Irefin was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Six Division of the Nigerian Army, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.
Prior to his transfer to Rivers State in July 2020, Irefin was GOC 81 Division in Lagos.
He was also the Land Component Commander, Operation Delta Safe, in Delta State.
A close family source confirmed to TheDailyLeaks that it was only two weeks ago Irefin, who was from Ayetoro Gbede, Kogi State, buried his mother.
Irefin had been part of Army officers who was in attendance at the annual Chief of Army Staff conference in Abuja before he fell sick and later died while the conference was ongoing.
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Meanwhile, the conference had been cancelled by the Army and participants which included principal staff officers, GOCs, commandants of Army schools, commanders of Army operations were all asked to go into isolation for 14 days.
The acting director of Army Public Relations, Sagir Musa, in a statement on Thursday, announced the cancellation of the conference.
He said it became necessary to prevent any further spread of the disease.
“The Nigerian Army wishes to inform members of the public that due to resurgence of COVID-19 pandemic in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, in what appears to be a second wave of infection cycle and the unfortunate incident on Tuesday 8 December 2020, where an officer participating in the ongoing Chief of Army Staff’s Annual Conference 2020 here in Abuja tested positive to COVID-19, the remaining activities of the conference have, therefore, been immediately cancelled.
“All the participants have been mandated to immediately proceed on self-isolation in line with the Federal Government’s protocol for COVID-19 and to prevent any further spread of the disease.
“All inconveniences hereby regretted, please. Thanks for your usual understanding and cooperation,” Musa said.
