CAS eulogies late Group Captain Ochai

The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar on Wednesday said that the demise of Group Captain Aduna Gabriel Ochai was a great loss to the Nigerian Air Force and the armed forces.

Group Captain Ochai a pilot instructor died in NAF Air Beetle aircraft crash on August 24 ,2017 in Kaduna. Speaking at his burial yesterday at National Military Cemetery in Abuja, Air Marshal Abubakar explained why Ochai’s death was a great loss.

He said that as a pilot instructor late Group Captain Ochai successful accomplished the training of 16 student’s pilot a feast the Nigerian Air Forces could not accomplished in the last 32years.

According to him, “the NAF had lost a hardworking, committed and excellent senior officer who, during his lifetime, contributed to some feats in the NAF. One of such feats was the successful training and graduation of 16 NAF student pilots who completed their initial flying training while still being cadets at the Nigerian Defence Academy.”

“That was a target last achieved 32 years ago, according to the CAS. He described the late senior officer as a dedicated pilot who went the extra-mile to add value to the NAF. Air Marshal Abubakar assured the immediate family of the deceased that they remained a part of the Air Force Family and would be so treated.

While paying the last tributes on behalf of the Ochai Family, the elder brother of the deceased senior officer, Brigadier General John Ochai, expressed appreciation to the NAF for honouring his late brother with a national burial. He described his late brother as one who always loved service more than self. He stated that his late brother had great plans for his family. He therefore pledged that with God’s assistance, he would ensure that no vacuum was left as a result of the death of his brother.

Earlier in his remarks, a course mate and close friend of the departed senior officer, Group Captain Olufemi Ogunsina, also extolled the virtues of the late instructor pilot, noting that he died while doing what he was passionate about.