Before he appeared at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja on Monday, many people had thought that the Chairman of Emergency Plan Implementation Committee of the Ministry of Defence HIV and AIDS Programme, Major General Tahir Umar, was dead.
Actually, Umar bought the ticket for the Dana Airlines plane that crashed in Lagos on Sunday, but he could not make the journey.
Newspapers had reported on Monday that the army officer was among the 153 people that died in the crash.
But the Director of Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Bola Koleosho, confirmed on Monday that Umar did not die in the Dana Air Crash.
He said Umar, who is the Medical Officer at the Defence Headquarters bought the ticket but did not make the flight.
He said Umar was at the Army headquarters to alert the authorities that he was not dead.
According to him, the general bought the ticket online but decided not to make the trip.
Koleosho, however, declined to give reasons, why Umar could not make the journey.
He said since it was reported that Umar died, the two generals who answered Umar had been to the Army headquarters Abuja.
He said it was not the tradition of the Army to confirm anybody dead without seeing the corpse and reaching the members of the family.
Koleosho stated, “There are two Generals Umar in the Nigerian Army. The two of them came to my office today to say that they are alive.
“Tahir Umar came to my office today. He said that he bought the ticket but couldn’t make the flight. He is the Medical officer at the Defence Headquarters.”
Also, the News Agency of Nigeria reported that Col Mohammed Yerima, the Director Defence Information, in a statement on Monday, said Umar was alive.
The statement said Umar purchased the ticket for the ill-fated flight but could not make the trip.
It said the DHQ joined Umar and his family in thanking God for saving his life.
Meanwhile, the family of Lt. Col. Ochigbo Jumbo, one of the victims of Sunday’s Dana plane crash said on Monday afternoon that his remains had yet to be recovered.
The deceased’s sister-in-law, who did not identify herself, but spoke on behalf of his wife, Mercy, told our correspondent on the telephone that her husband, Frank, was at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital to identify and recover Ochigbo’s corpse but as at 4pm, they had made no progress.
She said, “My husband, Frank, who is also the elder brother of the deceased, has been at the mortuary since morning but has not been able to retrieve the corpse.”
When asked if Dana Airlines had contacted the family, she said she could not say.
Ochigbo, who was onboard the plane to attend a course at Ibadan was one of the 153 victims.
He is survived by a wife and three sons.
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