Ibrahim Attahiru (10 August 1966 – 21 May 2021) was a

Nigerian army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

who served as the Chief of Army Staff from 26 January 2021 to 21 May 2021 when he died in the 2021 NAF Beechcraft B300 King Air 350i crash near

Kaduna International Airport Kaduna Airport is an airport serving Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna State in Nigeria. The airport is around northwest of the city. The airport opened in 1982. Kaduna also has an older airport located on the northern edge of the city. The airp ...

Early life and education

Attahiru was born on 10 August 1966 in Doka,

Kaduna North Kaduna North, often referred to as the ''pioneer local government'', is a Local Government Area in Kaduna State, Nigeria. It is the capital of Kaduna State and its headquarters are in the town of Doka. It has an area of 70.2 km2. History ...

Local Government Area,

Kaduna State Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in ...

. He was a graduate of the

Nigerian Defence Academy The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration of t ...

, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, and Nigerian Army School of Infantry. He commenced

officer cadet Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Air ...

training in January 1984 and was commissioned as a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in December 1986 as an Infantry Officer. He held a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Strategic Management and Policy Studies from the

. He also attained a Masters of Science in Human Resources Management and Development from

Salford University , caption = Coat of ArmsUniversity of Salford , mottoeng = "Let us seek higher things" , established = 1850 - Pendleton Mechanics Institute 1896 – Royal Technical Institute, Salford 1967 – gained ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and a Graduate Diploma in International Studies from the

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

Military career

He had a tour of duty with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

as a Military Observer, where he facilitated

Operation Barras Operation Barras was a British Army operation that took place in Sierra Leone on 10 September 2000, during the late stages of Sierra Leone Civil War, the nation's civil war. The operation aimed to release five British soldiers of the Royal Ir ...

in September 2000. He was an operations officer for

ECOMOG The Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) was a West African multilateral armed force established by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOMOG was a formal arrangement for separate armies to work ...

Operations in

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

. As a staff officer, he was Chief of Defence Transformation and Innovation and Chief of Defence Logistics at Defence Headquarters Abuja. In that position, he worked with the Defence Logistics Agency on enhancing the operational readiness in the Armed Forces of Nigeria. He was an Instructor at the

and the Nigerian Army School of Infantry. He was later a directing staff and Chief Instructor at the

Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji The Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji is a training facility for the Nigerian Armed Forces, including the army, air force and navy. It is near the village of Jaji, Nigeria, about northeast of Kaduna in the Igabi Local Government Area ( ...

–

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...

. He was at the National Defence College in Kenya for the National Defence Management and Security Studies Course and at the Chinese

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

Special Forces Academy Shijiazhuang-Hubei Province, China for the Basic and Advanced Special/Operations Commando Forces Courses. He undertook leadership and security policy course at the prestigious Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University USA, Graduate School of Media and Communication, Agha Khan

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

, Bournemouth University Disaster Management Center, and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.

Death

On the evening of 21 May 2021 Attahiru was traveling on a Nigerian Air Force

Beechcraft King Air 350 The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was dropped in 1996. ...

on an official visit to

, where he was to attend the Passing out Parade of 80RRI in Depot Nigerian Army on 22 May 2021. During the journey the plane crashed, killing Attahiru and all ten other people on board.

Awards and recommendations

The General had several honors and awards. He was a highly decorated officer with

UNAMSIL The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) was a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Sierra Leone from 1999 to 2006. It was created by the United Nations Security Council in October 1999 to help with the implementation of the Lom� ...

Medal,

Medal, Forces Service Star, Meritorious Service Star, Distinguish Service Star, Grand Service Star, Corp Medal of Honour, Command medal, Field Command Medal, and Field Command Medal of Honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Attahiru, Ibrahim 1966 births 2021 deaths Chiefs of Army Staff (Nigeria) Nigerian Army officers Nigerian Defence Academy alumni People from Kaduna State Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2021 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Nigeria