Ali-Keffi, who once served as General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division and headed the covert Operation Service Wide (OSW), alleged that Attahiru’s death occurred against a backdrop of internal hostility, operational sabotage, and high-level corruption within the military.
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, was deliberately eliminated and did not die in an ordinary plane crash, as officially stated.
Ali-Keffi, who once served as General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division and headed the covert Operation Service Wide (OSW), alleged that Attahiru’s death occurred against a backdrop of 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 an aircraft transporting them crashed near the runway of the Kaduna International Airport.
The other victims were Brigadier-General Mohammed Abdulkadir; Brigadier-General Olatunji Olayinka; Brigadier-General Abdulrahman Kuliya; Major Lawal Aliyu Hayat; Major Nura Hamza; Flight-Lieutenant Alfred Ayodeji Olufade; Flight-Lieutenant Taiwo Olufemi Asaniyi; Sergeant Umar Saidu; Sergeant Adesina Isaiah; and Aircraftman Oyedepo Matthew.
In his account, Ali-Keffi said he had compelling reasons to believe that the late COAS was targeted.
According to Ali-Keffi, his conversations with Attahiru began shortly after the latter assumed office as COAS in early February 2021. He said the Army chief confided in him about humiliating treatment he had received from a superior officer during the early years of the Buhari administration when he served as GOC 82 Division.
Ali-Keffi said Attahiru recounted how, as Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, he was personally blamed for the loss of a scorpion armoured personnel carrier following an attack on a battalion, despite the battalion being several command levels below him.
The APC was eventually recovered, but Attahiru interpreted the incident as part of a pattern of unjust targeting.
He also recalled Attahiru’s frustration after intelligence suggested Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau was hiding in Maiduguri.
The COAS informed a superior at Army Headquarters (AHQ) before acting, but said he received a surprised and incoherent response.
Shortly afterwards, AHQ sent him a directive, through unsecured channels, to capture or eliminate Shekau. By the time troops arrived, Shekau had fled, leading Attahiru to suspect he had been tipped off.
Ali-Keffi said, “Gen Attahiru also narrated how as Theatre Commander, he had intelligence report indicating that Shekau was hiding in a location in Maiduguri.
“Being conscious of the fact that the Army Headquarters (AHQ) had effectively hijacked control of Operation Lafiya Dole, he called a superior at AHQ and informed him of the intel. He (Attahiru) said the reaction of the superior, as he could perceive from their WhatsApp audio conversations, was of shock and incoherence.
“He said the superior said he would call him back. To his surprise, a message was sent to him from AHQ in clear, not through a secured means of communication, that ‘Shekau had been located in Maiduguri and the TC was directed to capture or eliminate him.’
“Unsurprisingly, Shekau fled the location before the troops arrived which made Attahiru to suspect that he (Shekau) was tipped off. I nonetheless faulted Gen. Attahiru for not carrying out the raid before informing AHQ. I didn’t mention that, though, to Attahiru.”
“Perhaps, Attahiru wanted to impress the AHQ, hence, the reason for alerting AHQ first. In my fairly long stay in the military, I had long suspected that a great deal of operational plans and information were leaked from headquarters; the AHQ was not an exception,” he added.
Allegations of Sabotage, Corruption and Terror Financing
Ali-Keffi further stated that Attahiru disclosed troubling intelligence about one of his sector commanders allegedly paying Boko Haram fighters to avoid attacks.
The retired military officer said the late Attahiru described the sector commander as the “godson” of a powerful superior.
“Gen. Attahiru also told me that as TC, he once got intel report that one of his sector commanders, akin to GOC, was paying off the Boko Haram Terrorists in order that they should not attack his location,” he said.
He also recalled that Attahiru was dramatically removed from Operation Lafiya Dole, arrested, handcuffed and detained for weeks at the Special Investigation Bureau.
According to Ali-Keffi, it was the same facility where he himself would later be detained for 64 days.
According to him, Attahiru warned him to stay away from a particular retired senior officer whom he suspected of engaging in harmful or “diabolical” activities.
He said Attahiru frequently referred to this figure as “that man” and seemed to speak with a sense of dread whenever the individual’s name came up.
“Gen. Attahiru once warned me to be wary of a certain superior officer and I recall informing him (Attahiru) sometime in late February 2021 that the superior, who had retired at the time, had invited me to visit his private home,” he said.
“Gen. Attahiru ordered me not to go saying that the individual may harm me as he believed that the fellow was into diabolical activities. I didn’t go as ordered by the COAS.
“I recall that whenever he mentioned a certain retired superior military officer, his voice had an edge to it. He mostly referred to the fellow as ‘that man’ and never mentioned him by name. While I wouldn’t describe Attahiru’s actions in respect of the retired superior as being fearful of the chap, I could sense a sort of dread.”
At the time of his death, the COAS had reportedly ordered a forensic audit of funds and equipment in the Army and was expected to act on the findings on May 24, 2021, three days after the fatal incident.
Ali-Keffi said he wonders what became of that audit report.
”The late Gen. Attahiru, as I was made later understand, had ordered an audit (forensic) of funds and equipment immediately he assumed command of the Nigerian Army as COAS.
“He was due to act on the report on Monday, May 24, 2021. He died in the suspicious plane mishap on May 21, 2021,” he said.
As head of OSW, he said his team discovered large sums of counterterrorism funds being diverted into private pockets. He alleged that several of the terror financiers arrested were laundering money on behalf of senior military and government officials.
“At the OSW, we had observed massive amounts of funds meant for the counter terrorism campaign being diverted into private pockets. Some of the terrorism financiers that we arrested were laundering funds for some senior military and government officials that we suspected were illicit money, which was meant for counterterrorism,” he said.
“Terrorism thrives not only from funding received from external sources but also when funds meant for counterterrorism are misappropriated.”
“The Aircraft Did Not Crash, It Exploded”
Ali-Keffi insisted that the aircraft carrying Attahiru and the other officers did not crash but exploded just above ground level as it attempted to land in Kaduna.
According to him, the bodies of the victims were found flung far from the point of the explosion, and the injuries on some suggested the blast occurred inside the cabin.
He cited the case of Major Nura Hamza, whose legs from the knees downward were “blown off,” and Brigadier-General Kuliya, who also suffered severe limb injuries.
In contrast, the pilots’ bodies reportedly showed no burns and remained strapped to their seats, something he attributed to the armoured door separating the cockpit from the cabin.
Ali-Keffi said he personally stayed with the corpses at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna, until 2 a.m. on May 22, observing their injuries firsthand.
“Furthermore, the nature of the injuries on some of the victims indicated that something exploded close to them,” he said.
“Additionally, the corpses of the two pilots were relatively intact, save for their faces which were darkened. They (pilots) were still strapped to their seats when we recovered their corpses. The apparent explanation for this was because of the armoured or steel door between the cockpit and the cabin area.”
He argued that examining the aircraft’s black boxes and exhuming the bodies to test for explosive residue could help establish the true cause of the incident.
Unreleased Report
The retired general questioned why, more than four years after the air disaster, the full report of the National Air Accident Investigation Board has not been made public. He said he believes only a preliminary report was issued and that crucial findings remain withheld.
According to him, these unresolved issues, combined with Attahiru’s conflicts with powerful figures, his ongoing audit, and evidence of widespread financial leaks in the counterterrorism system, support his belief that the late COAS did not die from an accident but was assassinated.
In September 2021, the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) submitted an interim report on the King Air 350 aircraft crash that claimed the lives of Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 others.
However, details of the report have yet to be made public.