From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has joined world leaders in mourning India’s top military commander, Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others who perished in a helicopter crash in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
In a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari, in a message to the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on Thursday, described the deaths as irreparable losses to the Indian military and the nation.
The late Chief of Defence Staff was widely credited with the reform of the Indian armed forces and the security apparatuses.
“On behalf of myself, the government and people of Nigeria, I convey to you our deepest condolences, to the Rawat family, the families of the deceased as well as the Indian Military and nation as you mourn the Chief of Defence Staff, his wife and 11 other fine crop of officers,” the President said.