The Nigerian army announced that its chief, General Ibrahim Attahiru, lost his life on Friday along with ten other officers in a military plane crash shortly after taking off from an airport in northern Nigeria under adverse weather conditions. Nigerian Air Force spokesperson Edward Gabkwet told AFP that General Attahiru (54 years old) died on Friday afternoon when his military aircraft crashed near Kaduna Airport, without further details.
President Muhammadu Buhari had appointed Attahiru as Chief of Army Staff in January as part of a military leadership change aimed at bolstering the fight against escalating violence and a jihadist insurgency that has persisted for over a decade. Attahiru's death coincides with reports of the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau being seriously injured in clashes with fighters from a rival faction loyal to the Islamic State.
In a statement issued on Friday evening, President Buhari expressed his "deep sorrow" following the military plane crash that claimed the life of Army Chief General Ibrahim Attahiru and other military officers. The army stated that the incident, which also resulted in the deaths of ten other officers, "occurred shortly after the aircraft took off from Kaduna Airport due to bad weather," confirming that an investigation has been launched to clarify the circumstances of the accident.
In his statement, President Buhari remarked, "This is a major setback we suffered at a time when our armed forces were close to defeating the security challenges facing the country." The Nigerian army has been attempting to quell a jihadist insurgency in the northeastern part of the country since 2009, which has resulted in the deaths of over 40,000 people and displaced nearly two million others. In May 2017, Attahiru took command of military operations against the jihadist group in the northeast, but remained in this position for only seven months before being dismissed because Boko Haram attacks did not subside.
