The incident that took Attahiru’s life occurred during a trip for the passing-out-parade of a new set of recruits at the Nigerian Army Depot, Zaria, scheduled for Saturday, 22 May, 2021. The depot is the institution that trains Nigeria’s army recruits, and although he didn’t need to be there, Attahiru argued that his physical presence would boost the morale of those new entrants before their deployment to the different formations of the Army where they would serve. So, on the preceding Friday, he boarded a military aircraft with some of his closest aides. Less than sixty minutes later, the aircraft encountered challenges that, though remain undefined till date, resulted in the death of everyone on board. The event shook the nation to its foundations.
Attahiru: Remembering a patriot, five years on, By Niran Adedokun
