Malik Yahya/
Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, has died in a plane crash.
The incident was confirmed in a statement shared on Twitter by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Yerima.
He reportedly died alongside 10 other military officers after a Nigerian Air Force Beechcraft crashed near the Kaduna International Airport this evening and burst into flames.
Others on the flight included six senior military officers and four crew members. Among them were the General Staff Officer to COAS, the Director of Military Intelligence, the Provost Marshall of Nigerian Army, and the ADC to COAS.
Attahiru and his entourage left Abuja to attend the graduation ceremony of the Nigerian Army Depot in Zaria tomorrow.
A statement by the Nigerian Air Force Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, also confirmed the crash.
The statement reads, “An air crash involving a Nigerian Air Force aircraft occurred this evening near the Kaduna International Airport. The immediate cause of the crash is still being ascertained. More details to follow soon.”
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