CHIEF of Army Staff (COAS) Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 other top military officers were laid to rest at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja on Saturday, a day after a military plane crash claimed their lives.
The military officers who lost their lives along with the COAS were: M. I. Abdulkadir, and Olayinka, Brigadiers General; Abdulrahman Umar Kuliya, another Brigadier General, and L.A. Hayat, a Major.
Others were: Hamzat, a Major; Umar, a Sergeant; T.O. Asaniyi, a Flight Lieutenant; A.A. Olufade, a Flight Lieutenant; Adesina, a Sergeant, and Oyedepo, an Aircraft Man.
Ibrahim Attahiru was born on August 10, 1966 in Kaduna State. He hailed from Kaduna North in Kaduna State, where he completed his primary education in 1978. He was a graduate of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), the Armed Forces Command and Staff College. He was also of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on December 20, 1986.
He held a master’s degree (M.Sc.) in Strategic Management and Policy Studies from the NDA. He also held a master’s degree in Human Resource Management and Development from Salford University in the United Kingdom.
Attahiru rose to the position of lieutenant brigadier on January 26, 2021.
He held appointments which included but not limited to: commanding officer of 146 Battalion Nigeria Army in the Bakassi Peninsula; commander, 13 Brigade Nigeria Army; general officer commanding 82 Division Nigerian Army; one-time theatre commander of the Operation Lafiya Dole in North-Eastern Nigeria; director of staff duties, and deputy chief of policy and plans at the Army Headquarters.
He was honoured with several awards and medals, including the Forces Service Star, Meritorious Service Star, Distinguish Service Star, Corp Medal of Honour, Command Medal, among others.
He was married with children before his demise on Friday.
Brigadier General Abdulrahman Umar Kuliya, who was the acting chief of military intelligence, was born on February 2, 1968. He was from Kano State and got commissioned into the Nigerian Army on September 25, 1993, as a second lieutenant.
He held a B.Sc. in Mathematics and an M.Sc. in National Resource Strategy as well as Strategy and Security Administration.
Kuliya rose to Brigadier General on September 10 2017 and held appointments which included: platoon commander at the headquarters of the Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps; officer in charge 92 Intelligence Detachment; officer commanding 1 intelligence detachment; second in command, 1 Division Intelligence Group; directing staff at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, and theatre command for Operation Lafiya Dole, among others.
He was honoured with the Forces Service Star, Meritorious Service Star, Distinguished Service Star, Golden Jubilee Medal, Silver Jubilee Medal, and several other awards.
He was married with children before his demise.
Also aboard the ill-fated aircraft was Brigadier General Olatunji Lukman Olayinka, who hailed from Ikorodu, Lagos State, and was born on January 13, 1970.
He attended the Nigerian Military School where he completed his secondary education in 1987. He was commissioned into the Army on September 17, 1994, as a second lieutenant and he rose to the rank of brigadier general on September 10, 2017.
He was married and held appointments which included: platoon commander at Headquarters 7 Brigade; aide de camp to the general officer commanding 3 Division Nigerian Army; officer commanding, Ministry of Defence Provost Group; general staff officer Grade 2 Headquarters Corps of Military Police, among others.
Olayinka was honoured with the Distinguished Service Star, Meritorious Service Star, Forces Service Star, Golden Jubilee Medal, Silver Jubilee Medal, River Benue Star, among other awards.
Brigadier General Mohammed Idris Abdulkadir was born on April 19, 1971, in Kaduna and hailed from Niger State.
Abdulkadir was commissioned into the Nigerian Army on Sept 16, 1995, and was of the corps of military police. He rose to the position of brigadier general on August 17, 2017.
He held several appointments including: platoon commander, 82 Provost Company Enugu; officer commanding, 13 Brigade Provost Calabar; adjutant NDA, commander 82 Provost Group Enugu; deputy director, Training Army Headquarters Department of Training and Operations; chief of staff to the chief of Army staff, Army Headquarters.
He was married before his demise and was honoured with awards including: Distinguished Service Star, Meritorious Service Star, Forces Service Star, Golden Jubilee Medal, Silver Jubilee Medal, River Benue Star.
Major Nura Hamza was born on November 20, 1979 in Kano. He hailed from Gusau in Zamfara State and graduated from the Bayero University in 2003. He held a B.Sc. and an M.Sc. both in Economics.
Hamza also held an M.Sc in Business Administration and a Diploma in Computer Science. He was commissioned on the 2nd December 2006 as a lieutenant and became a captain on February 2, 2011.
He rose to the rank of major on Dec 2, 2015, and held several staff appointments including: military assistant, Office of the Chief of Army Staff Directorate of Audit; military assistant, Nigerian Army Post Housing Limited; administrative officer, Nigerian Army School of Finance and Accounts; acting staff officer, Grade 1 Finance Armed Forces Command and Staff College; and acting deputy director of Finance at the Office of the Chief of Army Staff.
He was married and was honoured with the Forces Service Star and the Golden Jubilee Medal in his lifetime.
Major Lawal Aliyu Hayat was born on April 11, 1985, in Kaduna. He hailed from Zaria, Kaduna, and was commissioned into the Army as a second lieutenant on October 4, 2008.
He held a B.Sc in Economics and Accounting and rose to the rank of major on September 27, 2017.
He held several appointments including: platoon commander at the Headquarters Infantry Corps Centre; company second in command at 5 Battalion; instructor, Nigerian Army School of Infantry; and aide de camp to the chief of Army staff at the Office of the Chief of Army Staff.
He was married before his demise.
Flight Lieutenant Alfred Ayodeji was born on February 19, 1992, in Suleja. He hailed from Kogi State.
He joined the Air Force through the Nigerian Defence Academy on August 15, 2009, and held B.Sc. in Accounting from the NDA
He was commissioned as pilot officer on Sept 13, 2014, and was promoted to flight lieutenant on August 15, 2019.
He was serving as a squadron pilot at 307 Executive Airlift Group, Abuja.
Flight Lieutenant Taiwo Olufemi Asaniyi was born on February 25, 1992, in Ibadan and hailed from Onuara in Oyo State.
He joined the Air Force through the NDA on August 14, 2010, and became a pilot officer on September 12, 2015.
Asaniyi held a B.Sc. in Biological Sciences from the NDA, and got promoted to flight lieutenant on August 14, 2020. He got married about two months before his demise.
Sergeant Umar Saidu was born on December 11, 1985, in Das, Bauchi State.
He joined the Nigerian Army on February 28, 2006, and was posted to the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police.
Saidu was married before his death and became a Sergeant in 2017.
The sergeant served in the Defence Headquarters, Department of Defence Transformation and Innovation as an orderly to the chief of defence training and innovations. He also worked at the Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command as orderly to the chief of doctrine and combat development as well as Army Headquarters Office of the COAS as orderly to the COAS.
Sergeant Opeyemi Adesina Isaiah was born on April 9, 1989, in Kaduna.
Isaiah was recruited into the Air Force on November 2, 2012, and was granted the initial rank of a corporal.
He became a cabin crew member in the Air Force, and upon the completion of his basic military training at the Military Training Centre Kaduna, was posted to the 307 Executive Airlift group Abuja and later to 303 Medium Airlift Group, Ilorin, in 2017.
Isaiah was promoted to the rank of sergeant in September 2016.
Aircraftman Oyedepo Olamide Matthew was born on March 20, 1998, in Osun.
He was granted the initial rank of aircraft man as an aircraft technician and was single.
After completion of his basic military training at the Military Training Centre in Kaduna, he was posted to 203 Intelligence Surveillance and Recognizance Group, Yola, and later to 307 Executive Airlift Group, where he was serving before his death.
The COAS was on his way to Kaduna to attend the passing-out parade of Army recruits scheduled for Saturday, May 22, before the crash which threw the nation into mourning.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.