Inclement weather, has been blamed for the air crash which killed Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 others on Friday, in Kaduna.
According to a statement by the Acting Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, the incident is being investigated.
“It is with a heavy heart that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) regrets to announce that this evening at about 1800 Hours, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru in company of his entourage, who were on official trip from Abuja to Kaduna, were involved in an air mishap,” the statement reads.
“The unfortunate incident occurred after landing at the Kaduna International Airport due to inclement weather. The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Lucky Irabor has therefore directed that an Accident Investigation Board be constituted to unravel the immediate and remote cause(s) of the unfortunate accident.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army last night, released names of all the officers who died in the crash. They include;
1. Lt. Gen. I Attahiru– COAS
2. Brig. Gen. MI Abdulkadir– Chief of Staff to Army Chief
3. Brig. Gen. Olayinka– Acting Provost Marshal, Nigerian Army
4. Brig. Gen. Kuliya – Acting Chief of Military Intelligence
5. Major LA Hayat– ADC to COAS
6. Major Hamza– Chief Security Officer (CSO) to COAS
7. Sergeant Umar– Orderly to COAS
Aircraft Crew
8. Flt. Lt. TO Asaniyi– Pilot
9. Flt. Lt. AA Olufade– Co-Pilot
10. Sergeant Adesina
11. ACM Oyedepo.
