…
Goodluck Jonathan said in a
statement that the governor of the central Nigerian state of Kaduna,
Patrick Yakowa, died in the helicopter crash in Bayelsa state in the
Niger Delta.
The former national security
adviser, General Andrew Azazi, also died in the crash, the statement
said. Azazi was fired in June amid growing sectarian violence in
Nigeria, but maintained close ties with the government. The other
victims were aides to Yakowa and Azazi and the two helicopter pilots, it
said.
President Goodluck Jonathan’s
spokesman, Reuben Abati, said in a statement that their loss was
“extremely painful to the entire nation.”
He said the president had ordered an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
The crash occurred at about 3:30
p.m. after the navy helicopter took off from the village of Okoroba in
Bayelsa state where officials had gathered to attend the burial of the
father of a presidential aide, said Commodore Kabir Aliyu. He said the
helicopter was headed for Nigeria’s oil capital of Port Harcourt when it
crashed in the Nembe area of Bayelsa state.
May their souls Rest In Peace.
