President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed shock and sorrow over the air crash that claimed the chief of army staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, and other military officers.
In a statement by his spokesman Femi Adesina, he described the loss as “a mortal blow to our underbelly.”
The president regretted that the incident happened at a time men of the nation’s armed forces were poised to end the security challenges facing Nigeria.
Mr Adesina quoted the president as consoling families of the deceased, the military, and Nigerians in general, describing them as “heroes who paid the ultimate price for peace and security in the land.”
According to the statement, while praying that God receives the souls of the patriots, the president said the crash “is one mortal blow to our underbelly, at a time our armed forces are poised to end the security challenges facing the country.”
The president pledged that the departed would not die in vain.
