ABUJA: Nigeria’s army chief Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru died in a plane crash on Friday on an official visit to the northern state of Kaduna, which has had security challenges in recent months.

The air force said in a statement that its plane crashed near Kaduna airport and that it was investigating the immediate cause.

The crash comes three months after a small Nigerian air force passenger plane crashed just outside Abuja airport following engine failure, killing all seven people on board.

President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Attahiru alongside other military chiefs in January after years of mounting criticism over spreading violence by Islamists and other armed gangs.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2021