A retired General Officer Commanding 1 Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army has revealed that the plane crash in which former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Ibrahim Atahiru died was caused by financiers of terrorism.
Danjuma Ali-Keffi, who revealed this in an interview with ThisDay said he wrote a petition to the president on his incarceration and illegal retirement from the Army. The crash had involved a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) plane near the Kaduna International Airport, amid adverse weather conditions.
Ali-Keffi said Atahiru was committed to ending terrorism as he had shown his readiness to attack terrorists’ sources of finance, and other forms of support but was targeted for killing.
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. “Late General Attahiru appointed me as GOC 1 Div (whilst still being the Commander of OSW) to enable me to effectively discharge the task (OSW). It is important to note that OSW was not just an investigative outfit but also carried out covert operations to capture, or kill insurgents’ leaders and key fighters in the field; destroy insurgent camps and facilities, as well support the military and other security agencies’ operations.
“Furthermore, having command of 1 Div served as cover for me to carry out the task (OSW) without attracting unnecessary attention or making people aware of the existence of the outfit (OSW). “About 2100 hrs on Thursday 20 May 2021, I spoke on the phone with the Chief of Staff (COS) to the late COAS regarding their impending trip to Kaduna the following day (21 May 2021). I had earlier spoken with General Attahiru on the same issue. We ended our conversation on the note that the late COAS and entourage would come by flight at about 1000 hrs the following day.
“About 0630 hrs the following morning, I called the COS to the late COAS to confirm if their travel plan was as we discussed the night before, as I needed to make arrangements for the Mosque that the COAS would attend Jummu’at (Friday) prayers.