Ex-Chief of General Staff, Oladipo Diya dies at 78
A former Chief of General Staff under the late General Sani Abacha, Lt. General Oladipo Diya (rtd) is dead
He died on Sunday morning in Lagos from a protracted illness.
The nature of his illness was not disclosed in a statement issued by Oyesinmilola Diya on behalf of his family.
The statement reads: On behalf of the entire Diya family home and abroad; We announce the passing on to Glory of our dear Husband, Father, Grandfather, brother, Lt- General Donaldson Oladipo Oyeyinka Diya (Rtd) GCON, LLB, BL, PSC, FSS, mni.
Our dear Daddy passed onto glory in the early hours of 26th March 2023.
Please keep us in your prayers as we mourn his demise in this period. Further announcements will be made public in due course.
Barrister Prince Oyesinmilola Diya, on behalf of the family.
Born on Monday, 3 April, 1944 in Odogbolu, Ogun State, then Western Region, Nigeria, he attended Yaba Methodist School, Lagos from 1950 – 1956 and thereafter proceeded to his hometown, Odogbolu, as a pioneer student of Odogbolu Grammar School, from 1957 – 1962.
Oladipo Diya is a Nigerian Army General who served as the Chief of General Staff, the de facto Vice President under military head of state, General Sani Abacha, from 1994 to 1997. He previously served as Chief of Defence Staff and was Military Governor of Ogun State from January 1984 to August 1985.
He joined the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna and fought during the Nigerian civil war. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in March 1967. He later attended the US Army School of Infantry, the Command and Staff College, Jaji (1980–1981) and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru.
While serving in the military, Diya studied Law at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained an LLB degree, and then at the Nigerian Law School, where he was called to Bar as Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
He became General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Nigeria Army in 1985 and Commandant, National War College (1991–1993)
