President Muhammadu Buhari has been criticized for being absent at the funeral of the Chief Of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru which held on Saturday in Abuja.
Attahiru died in a military plane crash that killed ten other officers on board in Kaduna on May 21.
Their remains were laid to rest at the National cemetery on May 22 in the absence of the President and vice president Yemi Osinbajo.
A presidential spokesperson, Lauretta Onochie has said Buhari was absent at the funeral due to security reasons.
She wrote; “For a President to be at any funeral or event outside the Presidential Villa, the event must have at least 48 hours for intelligence operatives to do surveillance and clearance before the President can go based on the Security report.
“In a case where the COAS and his team died yesterday and had to be buried today, you don’t expect the President to go there where there is no security clearance.
“The minimum time of 48 hours wasn’t met. In insecurity parlance, funeral ceremonies are where politically exposed persons face more risks.”
