Babatunde Lawal, a prominent Nigerian permanent secretary from Lagos.

Babatunde Lawal, a prominent Nigerian permanent secretary from Lagos, has died, family sources said on Monday morning in Abuja.

Mr. Lawal, who headed cabinet affairs secretariat at the office of the secretary to the government, died shortly after midnight from liver cancer. He was 56.

A spokesman for the SGF ‘s office did not immediately return a request seeking comments.

Mr. Lawal’s profile described him as an economist with a bachelor and master’s degrees in economics and strong bias in fiscal policy analysis, management and strategic planning.

Mr. Lawal joined the Federal Civil Service in October 1987 as a planning officer Grade I and deployed to the defunct Federal Ministry of Economic Planning, his official profile said. He left behind a wife and children.