Retired General confesses, says plane crash which killed late army chief, Attahiru wasn’t accident

According to Major-General Danjuma Ali-Keffi, the former General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Nigerian Army’s 1st Division, the air mishap that claimed the lives of Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru and around ten others on May 21, 2021, was caused by an explosion that occurred in midair.

He revealed the startling assertion in a THISDAY exclusive interview.

Ali-Keffi urged President Bola Tinubu to launch a quick investigation into the regrettable tragedy, stating that the crash is directly related to those who finance terrorism.

The retired Major claims significant information regarding the incident was purposefully withheld and voiced his misgivings about the official inquiry.

He emphasised that the fact that the public has not been allowed to access the entire investigative report has raised doubts about the facts surrounding the unfortunate tragedy.

According to Ali-Keffi, the late army leader went above and beyond in his attempts to combat terrorism by identifying and taking down those who finance terrorism.

Ali-Keffi questioned the sudden changes in the planned trip, the choice of aircraft, and the landing airport in a thorough description of the circumstances leading up to the tragedy.

“I spoke on the phone with the Chief of Staff (COS) to the late COAS regarding their upcoming trip to Kaduna the following day (May 21, 2021) at approximately 2100 hours on Thursday, May 20, 2021,” Ali-Keffi clarified.

“On the same matter, I had already spoken with General Attahiru. We concluded our talk with the announcement that the entourage and late COAS will arrive by plane the next day at roughly 1000 hours.

I had to make preparations for the COAS to attend Jummu’at (Friday) prayers at the mosque, so I contacted the COS to the late COAS early the next morning to make sure their travel schedule was as we had arranged the previous evening.

“I was notified by the COS that the plan had changed. He said that following our conversation last night, they got a message that the late COAS was expected to attend a meeting on Friday, May 21, 2021, at approximately 1000 hours, either at the Presidential Villa or at the office of the Honourable Minister of Defence (HMOD). The late COAS was expected to attend in person and was not permitted to send a representative.

It is significant to remember that the late COAS visited Kaduna as part of his travel to Zaria, where he was scheduled to attend the Depot NA’s Passing Out Parade on Saturday, May 22, 2021.

It is important to note that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the Honourable Minister of Defence (HMOD), and the president are informed in advance when service chiefs are moving out of station (to Abuja).

Thus, what made the meeting timetable coincide with the late COAS’s expected departure or arrival in Kaduna, and why was it insisted upon that he (the COAS) not be represented?

It is significant to remember that when service chiefs are relocating (to Abuja), advance notice is given to the president, the Honourable Minister of Defence (HMOD), and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

So why was it insisted that the late COAS not be represented, and why did the meeting schedule align with his anticipated arrival or departure from Kaduna?

“The flight was delayed for more than an hour and did not take off until about 1730 hours for reasons that I do not understand to this day. I was informed that the aircraft originally allocated for the mission—which involved transporting the COAS and his entourage—had a problem and had to be substituted, which accounted for the delay.

Speaking further, Ali-Keffi stated, “In the interim, there was a weather advisory advising people to avoid Kaduna airspace due to the expected storm (wind shear) and heavy rainfall.” We could see the cloud forming at the airport; it was already apparent in Kaduna.

In fact, the clouds were so heavy that they suggested a strong storm. I started to have reservations about the flight. When Air Commodore Iyamu and Air Commodore Ilo arrived with me to accept the COAS, I eventually expressed my worries to them.

“I even proposed that they notify Abuja about the weather so that the flight may be cancelled. That’s when I found out the aeroplane was in the air (about 1745 hours). When the rain started to fall, I started to worry about whether the plane would be able to land at the airport in such a severe storm.

“When Air Commodore Ilo told me that we needed to go to the Civil (International Airport) since the NAF runway was insufficiently lengthy to allow the aircraft to land in the terrible weather, I was not shocked. After that, we headed for the international airport, but we moved slowly because of the intense rain and shale (little pieces of ice).

“There was a loud noise that I initially believed to be thunder when we arrived in the area of the airport. I think that the aeroplane that was descending to land on the runway was what we had previously said. I realised that the plane had landed and was making its way to the parking lot as we rounded the corner to enter the tarmac.

There were no planes visible to me on the runway. There was a fireball near the far side of the runway as I anxiously looked about. That was the plane that was carrying General Attahiru! We exited the cars, went across the runway, and got up close to the flaming plane. To extinguish the fire, firefighters were on the scene. We had to retreat at one point because we were afraid the cylinders would blow up.

The bodies of the ten people on the tragic aircraft were eventually found, some distance away from the wreckage. Their burning bodies were apparently thrown off the aircraft before it crashed (already in flames). Moreover, the aircraft—or what remained of it, anyway—was situated on a comparatively level meadow, at least from what I could recall.

“A crater did not exist. This was a sign of an explosion in midair. What, then, led to the aeroplane blowing up? What is stated about the incident in the report by the Air Safety and Accident Investigation Bureau intrigues me.

“Was the flight intentionally delayed in order to be caught up in the rainstorm?” inquired Ali-Keffi further. Was there a sabotage on the aircraft that resulted in the midair explosion? Did explosives trigger the explosion? Was there a bomb planted on the plane or in a package that a passenger may have taken on purpose or accidentally?