Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Ibrahim Attahiru and 11 Others Died in a Plane Crash in Kaduna

Ibrahim Attahiru, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, and 11 others have died in a military plane crash in Kaduna on Friday.

Military sources quoted by Vanguardngr stated. The incident occurred on Friday in Kaduna.

According to a statement from Air Commodore Director of Public Relations and Information of the Nigerian Army, Edward Gabkwet, the immediate cause of the crash is still being investigated, “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.”

Attahiru was born on August 1961 in Doka, Kaduna North Local Government Area, Kaduna State.

He was a graduate of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji and Nigerian Army School of Infantry. He commenced cadets training in January 1984 and was commissioned into the rank of Second Lieutenant in December 1986 as an Infantry Officer.

He holds a Masters degree in Strategic Management and Policy Studies from the Nigerian Defence Academy. Others include, Masters of Science in Human Resources Management and Development form Salford University in the United Kingdom and Graduate Diploma in international Studies from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.

General Attahiru has held several appointments on the staff, instructional and in command during his military career. He had a tour of duty with the United Nations in Sierra leone as a Military Observer, where he facilitated United Kingdom military engagement, Operation BARASS in September 2000. He was an Operation Officer and later Company Commander in NIBATT 19 ECOMOG Operations in Liberia. Also, he had the unique privilege of having commanded with distinction all through the chain of command in the Nigerian Army.

Prominent among these appointments are Commanding Officer 146 Battalion Nigerian Army (Operation HARMONY IV) in the Bakassi Peninsula, Commander 13 Brigade Nigerian Army (Operation PULO SHIELD), General Officer Commanding 82 Division Nigerian Army.

He was one time Theatre Commander Operation LAFIYA DOLE (the Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency Outfit in North Eastern Nigeria). It is on record that he brought relative stability to the region with the surrender od several Boko Haram combatants.