Retired Major General Danjuma Ali-Keffi, former head of the covert Operation Service Wide (OSW), has made explosive allegations that the death of former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Attahiru, in the May 2021 air disaster was not an accident but a deliberate elimination orchestrated through “internal hostility, operational sabotage, and high-level corruption.”

Lt.-Gen. Attahiru and 10 other military personnel died on May 21, 2021, when their aircraft crashed near the Kaduna International Airport runway.

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.

Ali-Keffi, who claimed he personally observed the bodies, insisted that the aircraft did not crash but “exploded” just above ground level.

According to Sahara Reporters, Ali-Keffi detailed the basis for his suspicion, arguing that the injuries sustained by the victims were inconsistent with a typical plane crash.

He insisted the bodies were flung far from the point of impact, and injuries on some victims, such as Major Nura Hamza having his legs “blown off” from the knees down, suggested a blast occurred inside the cabin.

In contrast, he said the bodies of the two pilots reportedly showed no burns and remained strapped to their seats, which he attributed to the armored or steel door separating the cockpit from the cabin.

He challenged authorities to examine the aircraft’s black boxes and exhume the bodies to test for explosive residue to establish the true cause of the incident.

Ali-Keffi’s account alleges that Attahiru was targeted due to his efforts to clean up corruption and sabotage within the military

He said the late COAS had reportedly ordered a forensic audit of funds and equipment in the Army and was scheduled to act on the findings on Monday, May 24, 2021 – three days after his death. Ali-Keffi questioned the fate of this critical report.

As head of OSW, Ali-Keffi’s team had observed “massive amounts of funds meant for the counter terrorism campaign being diverted into private pockets,” and arrested terror financiers who were allegedly laundering money for senior military and government officials.

Ali-Keffi said Attahiru had confided in him about a suspected leak at Army Headquarters (AHQ) after informing a superior about intelligence on Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau’s hiding place in Maiduguri. An unsecured directive to capture Shekau was sent out, and Shekau immediately fled the location, leading Attahiru to suspect a tip-off.

He said Attahiru disclosed intelligence that one of his sector commanders was allegedly paying off Boko Haram fighters to avoid attacks, describing the officer as the “godson” of a powerful superior.

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.”

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.”

The retired general further questioned why the full report of the National Air Accident Investigation Board has never been made public, more than four years after the tragedy.

The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) submitted an interim report to the Chief of Air Staff in September 2021, which contained 27 initial findings and eight safety recommendations.

The AIB later stated in May 2022 that further investigation was suspended due to lack of cooperation, and that the release of the full report was ultimately the prerogative of the military.