Army chief, Abubakar, dies in road crash

The authorities of the Nigeria Army yesterday announced the death of its Chief of Training and Operations, Major General Yushau Abubakar, in a ghastly motor accident in Maiduguri, Borno State.

The late Abubakar, who was the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole in the North-East, was reportedly travelling with the acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Muhammed Aliyu and a driver to Damaturu, the Yobe State capital when the sad incident occurred along Maiduguri-Damaturu Road.

Army spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, yesterday confirmed that Aliyu sustained some injuries and is being medically taken care of.

General Abubakar handed over the reins of the operation to Major General Hassan Umaru last December when the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Gabriel Olonisakin, in a statement issued by the Director of Defence Information, Brig. General Rabe Abubakar said the reshuffle was to restructure “the Operation Lafiya Dole in the North East, to reposition it for more efficiency, effectiveness and combat readiness in the discharge of its assigned tasks of crushing the remnant of terrorists.

Though the cause of the accident remained hazy yesterday, but the GOC and his driver, including the corpse of Abubakar were brought to the emergency ward of the General Sani Abatcha Specialist hospital, Damaturu with heavy military presence before being conveyed back to Maiduguri.