The helicopter was piloted by ACP Garba Yalwa. Other victims of the crash were the co-pilot, CSP Alexander Pwol-Jo, and the DIG’s orderly, Sergeant Sonatian Shirunam.
The helicopter was said to have crashed into some houses at Kabong, a heavily populated neighbourhood in Jos North Local Government Area.
Also, a nine-year-old boy said to have been injured in the incident. One eyewitness told journalists that the boy, who was taken to an undisclosed medical centre, might have been hit by a sharp object that flew off the crashing helicopter. When contacted, the Chief Medical Director of University of Jos Teaching Hospital, Dr. Ishaya Pam, told http://news-and-entertainment.blogspot.com that the boy, whose name could not be ascertained as at press time, was not brought to the hospital.
The helicopter belonged to the Nigeria Police and was being used by the Special Task Force put together by the Federal Government to contain the crisis in Jos. It was deployed in the city after the massacre of more than 500 people at Dogo Na Hawa and Ratsat villages in Jos South LGA.
Our correspondent learnt that Haruna, who was a former Commissioner of Police, FCT, was on his way back to Abuja after he, along with the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, had undertaken an operational tour of Jos to assess the extent of damage of last Sunday bomb blast to St. Finbarr’s Catholic Church, Rayfield, Jos.
The helicopter was said to have taken off from the Police Staff College, Kuru, and landed on the field opposite the Jos Prisons. It later took off from the field about 11.30 am and crashed less than five minutes later at Kabong.
Another eyewitness said the helicopter was flying at a dangerously low altitude and was making a loud noise, which made many residents of the area to look up. It was said to be emitting smoke before it lost control and crash-landed.
The eyewitness, who indentified himself as Pam, said, “We were sitting somewhere when we heard a loud noise. We looked up and saw the helicopter flying very low. All of a sudden, it came down and crashed into a building.
He added, “This was the same way it was flying yesterday (Tuesday) and so we did not expect any crash. Yesterday was even worse as it was flying at a very low altitude and we thought it would crash into communications masts.”
The owner of one of the houses destroyed one, Mr. Mali Waziri, told our correspondent that he was in his office when his wife called and told him about the incident. He said he lived in the house with his wife and six children. They were lucky because his wife was out of the house while the children were in school when the helicopter crashed into the building.
Plateau State Police Commissioner, Mr. Emmanuel Ayeni, told newsmen that the officers on board were very senior policemen. He said he could not give details of the crash until investigations were concluded.
Ayeni said, “Their death is a monumental loss, not only to the police, but to the whole nation. Haruna was a fine police officer.
Confirming the death of the DIG Operations and three others on Wednesday, the Force Public Relations Officer in Abuja, Mr. Olusola Amore, in a statement, said the tragic incident occurred about 11.30 am while the officers were on a routine aerial patrol.
“The Force, in conjunction with other relevant government agencies, has since commenced investigation into the incident,’’ the statement said.
Meanwhile, the Chief Whip, Plateau House of Assembly, Mr. Tim Golu, has described the late DIG as “one of the very few true policemen in Nigeria.
“That Haruna is dead is very shocking. He was a very detribalised officer whose tenure as the FCT Commissioner is still being missed,’’ Golu, a former editor of the Leadership Newspaper, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Jos on Wednesday.
“I worked with Haruna as a journalist in Abuja, and I found him to be a very fair and competent officer.
“Everyone in Abuja knows that crime went very low when he was there. When he left, everyone felt his absence and kept wondering why he was transferred,’’ Golu added.
Golu lamented that the police officer died while striving to bring peace to the troubled Plateau State and expressed optimism that Haruna would have succeeded.
Also, a former Chairman, National Assembly Service Commission and current Chairman, Kaduna State Universal Primary Education Board in Kaduna, Mr. Ishaya Akau, described the incident as “very devastating.”
“When he (Haruna) took over in Abuja, police performance was excellent and the residents did not want him to be removed.
“It is truly a very sad story because Haruna was a very fine and competent officer,’’ he said.
John, who left behind a wife and children, was born on August 16, 1956 in Karim Lamido LGA, Taraba State. He enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force on June 5, 1978 as a Cadet Inspector and rose through the ranks to become a Deputy Inspector-General of Police.
He was a former Commissioner of Police in-charge of Anambra, Niger, FCT and Benue State Police Commands.
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