NIGERIANS, on Thursday, mourned as the remains of seven officers of the Nigeria Air Force who died in a plane crash on Sunday were buried in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The military funeral procession was organised for the seven officers as they were laid to rest at the National Cemetery, Lugbe, Airport Road, Abuja.
The Air Force officials who died in the crash were Haruna Gadzama, flight lieutenant and captain of the aircraft; Henry Piyo, co-pilot and flight lieutenant; Micheal Okpara, a flying officer and airborne tactical observation system (ATOS) specialist; and Bassey Etim, a warrant officer.
Others were Olasunkanmi Olawunmi, a flight sergeant (ATOS Specialist); Ugochukwu Oluka, a sergeant (ATOS Specialist); and Adewale Johnson, an aircraftman who was the onboard technician.
According to Ibikunle Daramola, spokesperson for the Nigeria Air Force, the aircraft Beechcraft B350i crashed very close to the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja after reporting an engine failure en-route to Minna, Niger State.
Although the NAF said the burial was strictly by invitation due to compliance with COVID-19 protocol, top military officials were in attendance at the funeral.
Salihi Magash, minister of defence; Lucky Irabor, chief of defence staff; Ibrahim Atahiru, chief of army staff; Isiaka Amao, chief of air staff, and family members of the deceased were in attendance.
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Reacting to the funeral procession, many Nigerians took to the social media to bid farewell to the fallen heroes of the nation’s Air Force.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94