Buhari misses Ibrahim Attahiru’s funeral as governors attend Malami’s wedding

President Muhammadu Buhari has been slammed for missing the burial of late army chief Ibrahim Attahiru.

Attahiru, who was named chief of army staff (COAS) in January, died in a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) plane crash in Kaduna on Friday.

Ten other military officers perished in the fatal crash, while an eyewitness said he saw two men jump off the plane in parachutes before it crashed and “disappeared”.

NAF blamed the tragedy on bad weather but the Nigerian government has commenced a probe into the crash.

Buhari’s chief of staff Ibrahim Gambari was present at the military cemetery in Abuja where Attahiru and the others were buried on Saturday.

But President Buhari and his deputy Yemi Osinbajo who also live in the capital city were nowhere to be found.

“The presence of leaders in the burial of those who died in the service of their country is the first mark of respect for their soul and appreciation for their ultimate sacrifice,” former Kaduna senator Shehu Sani tweeted in apparent criticism of the missing commander-in-chief.

Former presidency media aide Reno Omokri who worked under ex-president Goodluck Jonathan also frowned at Buhari’s absence.

“(A) general died in service for Nigeria, and our president and governors did not attend his funeral in Abuja,” Omokri tweeted.

“But our governors were able to attend the wedding of the son of the attorney-general of Nigeria (Abubakar Malami) today.

“What is the benefit of fighting and dying for Nigeria?”

About five governors, according to Premium Times, attended the wedding ceremony of a son of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, in Kano state.

Also at the wedding were ministers and federal lawmakers, according to a statement by the media aide of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.