President Buhari Visits Injured Nigerian Air Force Pilots In Hospital

President Muhammadu Buhari has paid a visit to two of the three Nigerian Air Force officers who were involved in a crash last week.

The president visited the officers on Sunday at the Defence Intelligence Agency hospital in Abuja, hours after he returned from New York for the United Nations General Assembly, a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina said.

While one of the officers, Squadron Leader M.B Babari, did not survive the incident, President Buhari thanked God for sparing the lives of the two others.

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The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, who was also on hand to receive the President, explained that the three pilots had ejected successfully from their jets after the collision, while training for air parade on Friday, to mark the country’s 58th Independence Anniversary.

He noted, however, that Babari’s helmet flew open and he suffered head injuries that turned fatal.

President Buhari prayed that God would give the family of the deceased the fortitude to bear the loss.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Medical Services at the hospital, Air Vice Marshal Saleh Shinkafi, assured the president that the condition of the officers was improving steadily, and that they were being kept for further rest and counselling, as part of the rehabilitation process.

Others who received the President at the hospital were his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abba Kyari, and Chief of Defence Intelligence, Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Usman.