BEVERLY HILLS, May 22, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over the air crash that claimed the lives of Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, and other military officers.
The President described the crash as a mortal blow to the fight against the security challenges in the country.
Buhari, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, condoled with the families of the deceased, the military, and Nigerians in general, describing the dead as “heroes who paid the ultimate price for peace and security in the land.”
While praying that God should receive the souls of the patriots, the President said the crash “is one mortal blow to our underbelly, at a time our Armed Forces are poised to end the security challenges facing the country.”
He pledged that the departed would not die in vain.
THEWILL reports that the late COAS and his entourage were killed in an air crash at the Kaduna international airport’s runway at about 6pm in the thick of a heavy rainfall.
The crash involved a Nigerian Air Force aircraft, Beechcraft 350, carrying about 11 persons (seven members of the Army Chief’s entourage and three crew members) on board.
The military high command listed those who died in the crash as:
1. LT GEN I ATTAHIRU.
2. BRIG GEN MI ABDULKADIR.
3. BRIG GEN OLAYINKA.
4. BRIG GEN KULIYA.
5. MAJ LA HAYAT.
6. MAJ HAMZA.
7. SGT UMAR.
8. FLT LT TO ASANIYI.
9. FLT LT AA OLUFADE.
10. SGT ADESINA.
11. ACM OYEDEPO.
About the Author
