Flight Lieutenant Ibrahim Adamu Abubakar, the pilot of the MI-171 of the Nigerian Air Force that crashed in Niger State, has been buried.
After a prayer at the Haruna Danja Jumma’at mosque, the bones of Abubakar were interred in Zaria, Kaduna State, according to information obtained by iWitness.
The mosque’s Chief Imam, Sheikh Muhammad Sani Gumi, presided over the prayer.
Hundreds of mourners from various backgrounds, including the deceased’s family members, attended the burial.
A proxy funeral prayer (Salatul Gha’ib) for the deceased had already been offered by the late pilot’s family at the Gaskiya Corporation mosque in Tudun Jukun, Zaria.
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Abubakar Adamu, the deceased pilot’s older brother, stated in an interview with journalist that the family had already held a proxy funeral prayer in the pilot’s absence because they were unable to collect his body.
He said, “When we concluded that we might not see the corpse of late Ibrahim, the family decided to conduct a funeral prayer for the deceased in absentia which was observed on Thursday as ordained by our religion, Islam.
“Such prayer in Islam is called Salatul Gha’ib and it is observed when the corpse of a deceased is not found. Therefore, as relatives, we have a religious burden to perform the prayer with or without the corpse.
“However, now that the corpse has been discovered, it is also mandatory for us to perform another funeral prayer for the deceased which is not out of place. And that’s what we just did.”
According to Adamu, the family initially expressed sadness but eventually turned to hope that the late pilot had been blessed with a Shahada that may bring him janna (heaven) in the afterlife because he passed away while achieving the liberation of both his people and the nation as a whole.
The mother of the late pilot, Hajiya A’ishatu Adams in her reaction said her son was a “Hafiz” (one who memorized the Holy Qur’an) and was always calm and quiet.
She said, “He was very gentle, generous and friendly as he was always guided by the doctrine of his religion. Ibrahim was one of the 27 children of the family and was so loved by all due to his good character. He often called me on the phone while at work and asked me to pray for him. He never joked in seeking the blessings of his parents whenever he had the chance to call.
“My prayer is to seek for Allah’s mercy on him to repose his soul in Jannatul firdaus.”
