Admiral Mike Akhigbe
By SaharaReporters, 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.
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