Former Chief Of General Staff Admiral Mike Akhigbe Dies From Throat Cancer In New York

Retired Admiral Mike Okhai Akhigbe, who played several roles in a
number of military regimes in Nigeria, passed away today in New York
City, SaharaReporters has confirmed.
A source close to the family told our correspondent that Mr. Akhigbe
breathed his last at 1.06 p.m. (New York time). He was surrounded by
his wife, his children, and their spouses, our source disclosed.
The cause of death was throat cancer, said the source. SaharaReporters
learnt that the former military administrator of Ondo and Lagos States
first experienced symptoms of his disease in 2010. He was engaged in
President Goodluck Jonathan's campaign at the time, but took a leave
to fly to Germany where doctors gave him the grim diagnosis. For three
years, he underwent treatment for his cancer in Germany, the UK and
the United States of America before finally succumbing to the disease
earlier today. Over the last one month, the former naval officer
received treatment at the Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Hospital in
Manhattan. The hospital is one of the top treatment facilities for
cancer in the world.
The Nigerian Consulate in New York also confirmed Mr. Akhigbe's death,
adding that they were conferring with the late officer's family on
plans to convey his remains back to Nigeria for burial.
Mr. Akhigbe worked under military regimes led by Ibrahim Babangida,
Sani Abacha, and Abdulsalami Abubakar, holding positions at various
times as a governor or member of the armed forces ruling council. He
rose to become the Chief of General Staff under the Abdulsalami
Abubakar regime. He was retired from military service in 1999 just as
Olusegun Obasanjo took over power as Nigeria's elected president.
The late naval officer, who hailed from Edo State, was 67 years old.