It was an atmosphere full of sounds of horror and sadness as Nigeria’s top-ranking army commander Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru and other military officers were killed when their plane crashed in the country’s Northern state of Kaduna on Friday 21st May, 2021.
The DEFENDER gathered that the incident occurred “due to inclement weather” as the plane was landing at the Kaduna International Airport, according to the armed forces said in a statement, adding that the crash “claimed the lives of 10 other officers including the crew”.
The Nigerian Army confirmed the incident via its Twitter handle at 2.48 pm on Friday 21st May, 2021.
“@HQNigerianArmy The Nigerian Army regrets to announce the passing away of its Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru. The sad event occurred following an air crash in Kaduna which also claimed the lives of 10 other officers including the crew,” the Army said.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 others died in the air crash while on an official trip to Kaduna. The victims in details are:
1. LT GEN I ATTAHIRU (COAS)
2. BRIG GEN MI ABDULKADIR.
3. BRIG GEN OLAYINKA.
4. BRIG GEN KULIYA.
5. MAJ LA HAYAT.
6. MAJ HAMZA.
7. SGT UMAR.
CREW
8. FLT LT TO ASANIYI.
9. FLT LT AA OLUFADE.
10. SGT ADESINA.
11. ACM OYEDEPO.
Attahiru, the late Chief of Army Staff, was only appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in January as part of a shake-up of the top military command to better fight surging violence, including the more than decade-long battle against the Boko Haram terrorism in the country. He was barely four months on in the saddle when death by the plane crash came calling military strong man.
Buhari, a former general first elected in 2015, has been under increasing pressure from allies and critics alike over his government’s handling of mounting security problems in the country.
In a statement, the President said the crash “was one mortal blow to our underbelly, at a time our armed forces are poised to end the security challenges facing the country”.
The US diplomatic mission to Nigeria called Attahiru’s death “a tremendous loss to Nigeria” on Twitter, adding: “We join Nigerians in mourning the tragic loss of life from today’s plane crash,” the US office said Friday.
Nigeria’s military has been battling Boko Haram in the Northeast since 2009, in a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 and displaced some two million.
Attahiru died as reports emerged that Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau had been seriously wounded or possibly killed after clashes with a rival faction, the Islamic State of Western Africa Province (ISWAP).
The deceased Army Chief had once been in charge of leading the front-line offensive against Shekau’s fighters in the Northeast in 2017.
Local intelligence sources said Shekau had been seriously wounded this week when the ISIS-linked Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked his stronghold in the Sambisa forest in the North Eastern state of Borno. The sources said Shekau was wounded when he shot himself in attempt to evade capture.
The Boko Haram leader has been reportedly killed several times since the conflict began under the administration of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, only to reappear later.
Nigeria’s Army has said it was still investigating the reports and neither ISWAP nor Boko Haram had issued any statements about the Sambisa attack or Shekau’s whereabouts. The DEFENDER’s sources said if the incident culminating in Shekau’s attack did not happen, the terrorist groups, particularly Boko Haram, would have issued a statement through but that failure to do this over 24 hours was confirmation of the report remaining that of death still hanging in the balance.
