…Plus Their Full Names

The burial of the remains of the late Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 other officers who died in a military plane that crashed in Kaduna State on Friday was held at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja on Saturday.

Their remains were moved from the 44 Nigerian Army Referral Hospital, Kaduna to the National Mosque and the Nigerian Air Force Protestant Church in Abuja for prayers.

The remains were later moved to the National Military Cemetary for the interment ceremony.

The burial ceremony started around 2.50 pm with a profile of the late COAS read.

A moment of silence was observed after which the fallen officers were honoured with a 21-gun salute.

The names of the other officers include Brigadier-General MI Abdulkadir, Brigadier-General Olayinka, Brigadier-General Kuliya, Major LA Hayat, Major Hamza and Sergeant Umar.

Others are Flight-Lieutenant TO Asaniyi, Flight-Lieutenant AA Olufade, Sergeant Adesina and ACM Oyedepo.

The Nigerian Air Force had confirmed the incident via a statement issued shortly after the crash, but did not reveal the identities of the affected military personnel.

But several media reports said Lieutenant General Attahiru, who was appointed Chief of Staff on January 26, and 10 others, including six military officers and four crew members, died in the crash.

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed “shock and sorrow” over the deaths.

Air Force spokesperson, Edward Gabkwet, said the incident occurred near the Kaduna International Airport.

“An air crash involving a @NigAirForce aircraft occurred this evening near the Kaduna International Airport. The immediate cause of the crash is still being ascertained. More details to follow soon,” he said.

The incident was said to have occurred at about 6 pm on Friday while it was raining heavily.

The officers apparently were on their way to Kaduna State ahead of tomorrow’s passing out parade of soldiers from the Nigerian Army Depot in Zaria.

The aircraft, with registration number, 5N-R203 was billed to land at the Nigerian Airforce Base in Mando area, before it diverted and attempted to land at the Kaduna airport.

The Air Force has been involved in a couple of tragedies this year.

An Air Force jet supporting ground troops fighting Boko Haram terrorists went missing in north-east Borno in March.

In February, seven officials died after a military plane crashed in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The 21st COAS
General Attahiru was born on August 10, 1966 and joined the military in 1984.

He rose through the rank to become the 21st Chief of Army Staff of the Nigerian Army.

Before his appointment as the Chief of Army Staff, he had commanded Operation Lafiya Dole between May 2017 to December 2017.

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