Gen Joshua Dogonyaro, a former minister of defence during the Sani Abacha regime, has died at the age of 80.

His first son Joseph, who announced his death on Thursday, said “Daddy has been sick for some time until yesterday when he had a stroke and we rushed him to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) for medical attention.

“Unfortunately, early this morning (Thursday), around 3.00am precisely, he breathed his last.

“His death comes as a rude shock to us as a family. We are going to miss his love and warm as a grandfather, father, brother, uncle and supporter,” he said.

He described his father as “a general who was so faithful and loyal to the nation, Nigeria.”

According to him, the corpse has been deposited at the JUTH mortuary.

Dogonyaro was born on September 12, 1940 in Vom, Plateau State, though a native of Taroh in Langtang North Local Government Area.

He was enlisted in the Nigerian Army in 1964. The former ECOMOG commander retired in 1993.

Dogonyaro attended also the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos and obtained National Institute in addition to the Staff College (Psc) and Forces Service Star (FSS).

He was also a former commander of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG).