Army Chief Attahiru’s death a mortal blow – Buhari grieves

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has described the death of Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Ibrahim Attahiru, as a mortal blow to the country’s underbelly.

Attahiru died alongside three other army generals and seven other military officers in a Nigerian Air Force plane crash, Friday evening, on the runway of the Kaduna International Airport.

A statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Friday night, said Buhari was “deeply saddened” over the death of the army chief and other officers in the crash.

The statement reads: “President Muhammadu Buhari is deeply saddened over the air crash that claimed the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, and other military officers.

READ: UPDATE: Attahiru, 10 others die in plane crash – FULL LIST

“The President condoles with families of the deceased, the military, and Nigerians in general, describing them as ‘heroes who paid the ultimate price for peace and security in the land’.

“While praying that God receives the souls of the patriots, the President says the crash ‘is one mortal blow to our underbelly, at a time our armed forces are poised to end the security challenges facing the country’.

“The President pledged that the departed would not die in vain.”