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NAF buries instructor pilot amid tears, emotions

By Segun Olaniyi, Abuja
07 September 2017   |   4:24 am
Ochai, a NAF Instructor pilot, died in an air crash in Kaduna last week. Most military personnel and mourners, who were at the burial site to bid the late Ochai farewell, could not hold their emotions as they broke down in tears.

Ochai, a NAF Instructor pilot, died in an air crash in Kaduna last week. Most military personnel and mourners, who were at the burial site to bid the late Ochai farewell, could not hold their emotions as they broke down in tears.

It was a moment of grief and sober reflection as the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), friends, family members and some military personnel laid the late Group Captain Adanu Ochai to rest at the Abuja Military Cemetery.

Ochai, a NAF Instructor pilot, died in an air crash in Kaduna last week. Most military personnel and mourners, who were at the burial site to bid the late Ochai farewell, could not hold their emotions as they broke down in tears.

The late Ochai was the sole instructor pilot on board the Nigerian Air Force Air Beetle aircraft, which crashed in Kaduna on August 24.

Speaking, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, who paid glowing tributes to the deceased officer, said Ochai was one of the most committed and dedicated pilots the service ever had.

Abubakar said Ochai was responsible for the graduation of 16 pilots who completed their primary flying training while they were still cadets at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna.

He noted that the late Ochai gave his all in the service to his fatherland, adding that his death was not only painful to his family but the NAF in general and he would be greatly missed.

He tasked the bereaved family to take solace in God, who he noted, gives and takes at will, promising that NAF would always identify with them.

Chaplain of NAF Protestant Church, Group Captain D.B. Gani, urged the people to prepare their lives towards making heaven, saying earthly gains were vanity.

Speaking on When the Owner Demands for His Property, the cleric said Ochai’s death was a demand from his creator and appealed to those directly affected by his demise not to question God for taking such decision in their period of grief.

Ochai was survived by his aged parents, wife and three children.

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