Reports say many senior officers ordered to go into quarantine have tested positive to Covid-19 following the death of Late Major-General Olubunmi Irefin, who died last week of COVID-19 complications.

According to Channels TV, quoting unofficial military sources, no fewer than 18 generals have tested positive.

They were among the senior officers who had contact with Irefin, when he came to Abuja last week for the Chief of Army Staff Conference, and fell ill.

Military authorities are yet to confirm this, but the results are for officers who came from army formations outside Abuja to attend the conference.

The results for officers based in Abuja and the army headquarters have not been released.

Out of abundance of caution, Chief of army staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai last week cancelled the remaining session of the conference.

He also went into quarantine as he disinvited the officers, who he had invited to his son’s wedding last Friday.

From all indications, Nigeria is now in the middle of a second wave of CoVID-19, with rising infections, especially in Abuja, Lagos and Kaduna.

Irefin, until his death was the GOC of 6 Battalion based in Port Harcourt had suddenly taken ill while attending the annual chief of army staff conference in Abuja.

The conference was subsequently cancelled by the army and participants comprising principal staff officers, GOCs, commandants of army schools, commanders of army operations have been asked to go into isolation for 14 days.

Sagir Musa, acting director of army public relations, announced the cancellation of the conference in a statement on Thursday, saying it was 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,” he said.

“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.”