EXCLUSIVE: How Corpses Of Late COAS Attahiru, 3 Generals, Others Were Packaged, Buried

By Nigeria’s military tradition, families of officers, especially very senior officers, who died in active service are usually invited to see or bury their dead if they wish.But in the case of the military Beachcraft 350 aircraft that killed the COAS, Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 others, that tradition was not observed because the corpses were unrecognizable, a top Army source told THE WHISTLER.

The late Attahiru was involved in a plane crash near the Kaduna State’s airport on May 21, 2020 alongside 10 other officers and crew.

Among them were three brigadier generals, two majors, two flight lieutenants, two sergeants and another crew member, who were traveling with the COAS to Kaduna for the passing out parade of newly recruited military personnel when the incident occurred.

The deceased are: Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru (COAS), Brig Gen Mohammed Abdulkadir (Principal general staff officer to the COAS), Brig Gen Olatunji Olayinka (Provost Marshall of the NA),Brig Gen Abdulrahman Kuliya (Directorate of military intelligence), Maj Lawal Aliyu Hayat and Maj Nura Hamza.

Others are Flight- Lieutenant Alfred Ayodeji olufade, Flight-LieutenantTaiwo Olufemi Asaniyi, SGT Umar Saidu, SGT Adesina Isaiah and Aircraftman Oyedepo Matthew.

Barely 24 hours after the crash, were their remains conveyed to Abuja where they were buried at the National Military Cemetery according to their religious affiliations.

Among the dead officers were six Muslims and five Christians but their corpses could not be identified by those who went to evacuate them at the crash scene.

 “Those that packed their bodies, they just parked assumed bodies. It is not actually the bodies that were in that casket,” the source explained.

He said families of the dead officers were not permitted to see their corpses because there was no way to recognize them and identify who was who.

“You may not see a normal human being in that casket; you may see only parts, and it’s  not to wise to allow families see that,” he stressed.

Notwhistanding, the corpses were still separated at the burial ground to enable Muslim and Christian clerics pray for the respective dead officers, to give the impression that they were identified after the crash.

Speaking further, the senior official explained why the officers were buried at the National Military Cemetery.

“Normally, families of military personnel are entitled to their bodies when they die. It is not all military personnel that are buried in the Military Cemetery.

“However, those that die in operational areas like in the Northeast in Maiduguri, there is a policy that they should be buried there in Maiduguri because of the demoralizing effect of people posting the bodies of soldiers who died in operation on social media..

 “Normally, their families are entitled to their bodies to bury them whichever way they choose.”