Nigeria’s chief of army staff Lt General Ibrahim Attahiru has died in an air crash while on an official trip to Kaduna State, multiple media reports said.

Attahiru was appointed in January.

Although the Nigerian Army is yet to make any official statement on Attahiru’s death, Nigerian Air Force confirmed one of its aircraft crashed on Friday near Kaduna International Airport.

“The immediate cause of the crash is still being ascertained,” Air Force spokesman Edward Gabkwet said.