By Abraham Peter, Kaduna
We must start by apologising for our earlier post. Mrs. Fatimah Ibrahim, wife of late army chief is alive, and is morning the passing of her husband.
However, a list of the army chief’s entourage, included Brigadier-Generals AbdulKadir and Olayinka.
Also in the crash was another brigadier-general, AbdurRahman Kuliya, from Kano State, a source from Kaduna said.
Meanwhile, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State and Chairman North Central States Governors’ Forum says report of the death of Chief of Army Staff, LT. Gen Ibrahim Attahiru as well as other top Military Officers in a plane crash is devastating to the nation at its trying moment of insecurity.
Governor Sani Bello disclosed this in a statement while saying that he received the news with deep shock.
He said the death of COAS and others was coming at a time when the newly appointed Chief of Army Staff along with other Service Chiefs have developed renewed efforts in tackling insecurity in the country.
The Governor said the late Chief of Army Staff has, within his short time in the office, demonstrated and showed remarkable commitment and professionalism in the course of discharging his duty.
He called on the family, the Nigerian Army, friends and associates to accept the death as the will of Allah and bear the irreparable loss.
The Governor enjoined all to pray for the repose of his soul and other officers, and for Allah to give their families the strength to accept their divine call as all souls shall taste death.
The military Beachcraft 350 aircraft crashed at the Kaduna International Airport on Friday, claiming all 11 souls on board.
Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria, Akin Olateru, confirmed that the eight souls died onboard.
“Beachcraft 350. 8 souls on board. Unfortunately all dead,” Olateru wrote on WhatsApp, a media report said.
The Nigerian Air Force confirmed the crash.
“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,” the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Edward Gabkwet, said in a statement.
Those on the aircraft were:
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.
CREW
8. FLT LT TO ASANIYI.
9. FLT LT AA OLUFADE.
10. SGT ADESINA.
11. ACM OYEDEPO
