Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
Following the unfortunate air mishap that claimed the live of the Nigerian Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and other military officers on Friday, the Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku and Speaker of the state House of Assembly Professor Joseph Albasu Kunini on Saturday condole with the families of the bereaved, the Nigerian army and Nigerian as a whole over the irreparable loss.
In a statement issued in Jalingo on Saturday morning and signed by Mr Bala Dan Abu Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and publicity, governor Ishaku describe the death of the officers as shocking and a big blow to the families of the victims, the Nigerian army and the nation at large.
‘Taraba State Governor, Arc Darius Dickson Ishaku has condoled with the families and the entire Nigerian Armed Forces over the death of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Attahiru Ibrahim and other senior and junior military officers in a plane crash on Friday.
‘The death of the officers is shocking and a big blow to the families of the victims, the military and the nation at large as the late Chief of Army Staff was a highly disciplined officer who assumed the leadership of the army at a time that Nigerians craved for a change in the military strategy against insecurity in the country. The death of the Chief of Army Staff and the other victims of the crash at this time, has robbed the country of their contributions to this highly sought new strategy in the war against insecurity in Nigeria’ Ishaku said.
He prayed God to grant the souls of the late military officers peaceful rest and their families the fortitude to bear these monumental losses.
Meanwhile Professor Kunini has described the death of the COAS and other military officers as ‘worrisome and heartbreaking loss’.
The speaker who gave his condolence message while interacting with journalists in Jalingo on Saturday morning said that this is the last thing the country needed at this time and regretted the rather quick succession with which military planes have crashed in recent times.
‘I must say that it is a dark weekend for Nigerians, the Nigerian army, but most especially for the bereaved families. If you ask me, I would say this is one crash too many. In the last three months or so, we have witnessed three military plane crashes with collateral losses. This can not be happening.
‘It is time for us all to rise up and pray for our armed forces and to step up technical checks of our military hardwares to avoid avoidable losses. Let me also call on the military officers to not feel demoralized but rather use this unfortunate incident to surge their morale in the onslaught against security threats in the country as a mark of honor to the deceased’ Kunini said.
