A retired senior Nigerian Army officer, Major General Danjuma Ali-Keffi, has alleged that the late Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Attahiru, did not die in a plane crash as officially stated, but was deliberately targeted.
Ali-Keffi, who previously served as General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division and headed the covert Operation Service Wide (OSW), claimed Attahiru’s death occurred amid internal hostility, operational sabotage, and high-level corruption within the military.
Lieutenant-General Attahiru and 10 other military personnel died on May 21, 2021, when their aircraft crashed near the Kaduna International Airport. The victims included Brigadier-Generals Mohammed Abdulkadir, Olatunji Olayinka, Abdulrahman Kuliya, and others.
According to Ali-Keffi, Attahiru confided that he had faced persistent targeting and interference throughout his career, including suspicious directives during counterterrorism operations and intelligence leaks that allowed Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau to evade capture. Attahiru also revealed that some sector commanders were allegedly paying off Boko Haram fighters to avoid attacks.
The retired general further alleged that the late COAS had ordered a forensic audit of Army funds and equipment shortly before his death, raising questions about the misappropriation of counterterrorism funds by senior officials. Ali-Keffi claimed that terrorism financing thrived due to the diversion of funds meant for military operations.
Describing the plane incident, Ali-Keffi said the aircraft did not crash but exploded just above ground level. He cited the injuries on victims’ bodies as evidence, noting that some limbs were blown off while the pilots’ bodies remained strapped to their seats, seemingly protected by the cockpit door. He suggested that testing the bodies for explosive residue and examining the black box could clarify the cause of the incident.
Ali-Keffi also criticized the lack of transparency from the National Air Accident Investigation Board, stating that only a preliminary report had been released, and key findings remain undisclosed.
He concluded that the unresolved issues, combined with Attahiru’s conflicts with powerful figures and the audit of financial leaks in counterterrorism operations, support his belief that the COAS was assassinated, not a victim of an accident.
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