A former General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, Gen. Danjuma Ali-Keffi (rtd), has alleged that former Chief of Army Staff, Ibrahim Attahiru, who died in a plane crash may have been set up and eliminated.
Ali-Keffi, who made the appeal in a published interview at the weekend, alleged that Attahiru, under whom he served as GOC, and 11 other military officers, died in a “suspicious” military crash in Kaduna on 21 May 2021, claiming that the crash was linked to terror sponsors in the country.
He lamented that no less a person than the Chief of Army Staff and 11 senior officers died in a “suspicious” plane crash and the matter was swept under the carpet, as the full report of the crash investigation was not made known, and urged President Bola Tinubu to investigate the death of Attahiru, saying it may have been linked to terror financiers
The retired General also petitioned the president over his arrest, which he said was illegal, detention and compulsory retirement from service for allegedly exposing how top officials were involved in terror financing during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Recall that the tragic incident involved a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) plane which crashed near the Kaduna International Airport, amid adverse weather conditions.
Ali-Keffi said the Late army chief developed a strategy to end terrorism in the North, part of which was an infiltration of terror groups and the instigation of crisis among terror leaders, which resulted in the killing of the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, by a rival terror group, Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP).
“Let me put it succinctly; the Late General Attahiru showed strong commitment to end the insurgency ravaging the northern parts of the country”, Ali-Keffi said.
He explained that a crucial aspect of the strategy involved disrupting the oxygen supply to terrorism, targeting both funding and logistics, while actively pursuing the terror financiers.
Ali-Keffi, initially scheduled to receive the late army chief as GOC before the plane crash, pointed to significant deviations in the plans for Attahiru’s trip.
These included an unexpected change in travel time, a switch in aircraft, a shift in the landing airport from a military airstrip to the Kaduna International Airport, the landing occurring in turbulent and stormy weather, and a preceding ear-shattering explosion before the crash.
He highlighted the absence of a crater or impact at the crash site, emphasising that the passengers’ bodies were ejected and burnt before the aircraft descended, strongly suggesting an “explosion.”
He said, “The Operation Service Wide (OSW), a presidential task force, which I was commanding at the time of Late General Attahiru’s headship of the Nigerian Army, had as its primary mandate to dismantle the terrorism financing network in order to aid the fight against terrorism and insurgency.
