Director General of NATFORCE Alhaji Baba Mohammed described the late Chief of Army Staff as a sad incident for the nation. He said he will be remembered for his landmark contributions to the the nation.
The DG while expressing his heartfelt condolence to the families of the departed officers said that, the death of these officers is a national tragedy as the victims were patriots, who died with their boots on in the collective quest for peace and security.
NATFORCE DG described the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Ibrahim Attahiru as a gallant officer, “We have lost a very fine officer in terms of controlling illegal importation of Arms and light ammunition into this country, we have been working on this with the National Assembly and the military.”
Dr Baba Mohammed describe the death as a very sad one. He said it’s only God that knows why he has done what he has done and prayed to the almighty Allah to grants ex Chief of Army staff eternal rest. He also called on the citizens in places of authority to give their best to the country due to the fact that, as human beings, our time in this world is limited.
The DG called on citizens to be closer to God Almighty as death can come without any warning; the president of the Senate also promised that the lawmakers will encourage and motivate the armed forces to prosecute the war. He said, any one of us can die at any time.
Dr. Baba Mohammed while commiserating with the family and friends of the late COAS, described him as a fine man who was collaborating with the NATFORCE. Also in attendance was the Chief of Staff to the President, governors from Kaduna, Borno and Nasarawa States, the Inspector General of Police, Comptroller General of Immigration among others.
Recall that the Chief of Army staff Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 other officers died on Friday in a plane crash.
The military officials were en route to Kaduna on an official trip.
There was no immediate information provided about what may have caused the plane crash but, Brigadier Gen. Mohammed Yerima said more details would be released soon. The names of the other military officials who died were later made public.
Meanwhile, the U.S. diplomatic mission to Nigeria called Attahiru’s death “a tremendous loss to Nigeria” on Twitter, adding: “We join Nigerians in mourning the tragic loss of life from today’s plane crash.
Attahiru had been appointed to the position earlier this year by by President Muhammadu Buhari. The presidency tweeted photos of Buhari being briefed by the country’s defense minister and others about the crash.
All of them are heroes who paid the ultimate price for peace and security.
