The Army said the incident occurred when the plane landed at Kaduna Airport “due to bad weather.”

Officials said Nigeria’s top army commander, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Atahiro, and other officers were killed when the plane crashed in the north of the country.

The armed forces said in a statement that Friday’s incident occurred “due to inclement weather” when the plane landed at Kaduna International Airport.

There is no immediate information on what may have caused the crash, but Brigadier General Mohamed Yerima said that more details will be announced soon. The names of the other dead officers have not been made public.

The Nigerian Army regrets to announce the death of its Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ibrahim Atashiru. The unfortunate incident occurred after an air crash in Kaduna, which also claimed the lives of 10 other personnel, including the crew.

-Nigerian Army (@HQNigerianArmy) May 21, 2021

Chief of Staff Attahiru just appointed President Muhammadu Buhari issued a supreme military order in January to better respond to violent violent actions, including a ten-year battle with the Boko Haram armed group. Years of fighting.

Buhari, a former general who was first elected in 2015, has been constantly pressured by his allies and critics to deal with the country’s growing security problems.

The president said in a statement that the crash “dealed a fatal blow to our abdomen, and at that time our armed forces were ready to end the country’s security challenges.”

The air crash caused the death of Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ibrahim Atahiro and other officers, deeply saddened. They are all heroes who have paid the ultimate price for the peace and security of the land.

-Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) May 21, 2021

The US diplomatic mission in Nigeria said on Twitter that Atahiro’s death “caused a huge loss to Nigeria” and added: “Together with Nigerians, we mourn the tragic lives caused by today’s plane crash.”

Since 2009, the Nigerian army has been fighting Boko Haram in the Northeast. The conflict has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced about 2 million people.

Attahiru died Report appeared The leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, was seriously injured or could be killed after a clash with rival factions.

The chief of the army was responsible for leading the 2017 Northeast front-line attack on Shekau fighters.

Local intelligence agencies said that Shekau was seriously injured when the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP) linked to ISIL attacked its stronghold in the Sambisa Forest in Borno State in the northeast this week. According to sources, Xie Jiantu shot himself and died while evading capture.

According to reports, Boko Haram leaders have been killed several times since the beginning of the conflict before they reappeared later.

The Nigerian military stated that it is still investigating the report, and neither ISWAP nor Boko Haram has issued any statements about the Sambisa attack or the whereabouts of Shekao.