RN/ Usman Sani (Kaduna)
Nigerian Army has confirmed the passing away of Chief of Army Staff- COAS, Liutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru.
This was contained in a statement issued to newsmen by Spokesperson of the Army, Brigadier General Mohammed Yarima.
It explains that the sad event occurred following an air crash in Kaduna which also claimed the lives of 10 other officers including the crew.
The statement maintains that the Army Chief was enroute Kaduna from Abuja on Friday, when the unfortunate incident happened.
It adds that details of the sad incident and burial arrangements will be communicated soon.
A Nigerian military plane carrying the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Ibrahim Attahiru, and some senior military personnel crashed due to bad weather.
The accident occurred Friday evening when it was raining heavily near the Kaduna International Airport.
The B350 NGR 203 landed on RWY 05 and skidded off and burst into flames.
An aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmad, shared a photo of Gen Attahiru, with the heart break emoji.
Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet wrote on Twitter that the immediate cause of the crash is still being ascertained.
Ibrahim Attahiru
Lieutenant General Attahiru Ibrahim was born on the 10th of August 1966 and joined the military in 1984 and rose through the rank to become the 21st Chief of Army Staff of the Nigerian Army from 26 January this year till date.
Until his appointment as the Chief of Army Staff had Commanded Operation Lafiya Dole to reed Boko haram between May 2017 to December 2017.
RN