Former general officer commanding (GOC) of 1 division in the Nigerian Army, Major General Danjuma Ali-Keffi (Retd), has described the sad circumstances leading up to the deadly plane crash on May 21, 2021, which killed Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, the Chief of Army Staff, and eleven other senior military officers. CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
During an interview with Arise TV, Ali-Keffi disclosed that Attahiru’s plane was supposed to take off at 4:00 pm from Abuja and reach Kaduna in twenty to twenty-five minutes. He said that the flight was delayed at the airport for more than an hour for an unknown cause, and that during that time, Kaduna airspace had to be avoided due to a weather advisory.
In Ali-keffi’s words: “It was agreed that he was going to depart Abuja airport at about 4 pm and the flight time is usually 20 to 25 minutes to Kaduna. I was informed that he would leave the Flag House, which is the official residence of the Chief of Army Staff in Abuja, and proceed to the airport and that takes normally between 30 to 35 minutes. He got to the airport at about 5 minutes after 4, I was informed of that and they made their way to board a flight.
“For some reason which I can’t say, they were kept at the airport for over 1 hour. Meanwhile back in Kaduna, we were waiting to receive him at the Nigerian Air Force base and the weather had started forming, and there was a weather warning that the Kaduna airspace was to be avoided between 5:30 pm to 1830 hours (6:30 pm)”. CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
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