ABUJA, 23 May 2021, (TON): Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 other officers died in an Air Force plane crash in the country's Kaduna state, a military spokesman confirmed Saturday

11 Nigerian military officers including Chief of Army Staff Ibrahim Attahiru, aboard an Air Force aircraft died in a crash in state of Kaduna on Friday evening.

Attahiru and the 10 other officers were en route to the city of Kaduna from Abuja when their plane crashed near an international airport in Kaduna, said Mohammed Yerima, the spokesman for the army, in a statement late on Friday.

Chief of Army Staff was on an official trip to Kaduna when the incident occurred. The immediate cause of the crash is yet to be ascertained, said Edward Gabkwet, the spokesperson for the air force, in a separate statement on Friday. Also, the identities of the other officers aboard the aircraft are yet to be revealed.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari expressed shock at the incident, saying he was "deeply saddened over the air crash."

There are reports that it was a planned attempt to remove the top military leadership.