Taiwo Olufemi Asaniyi, the pilot who flew the crashed military aircraft on Friday, was scheduled to tie the knot with his fiancée in October.
Asaniyi, Ibrahim Attahiru, chief of army staff, and nine other military officers were on board a Beechcraft 350 aircraft that crashed near Kaduna international airport.
In a Twitter post, Adedeji Adeniyi, a friend to the deceased, said the pair had recently discussed arrangements for the wedding before the tragic incident.
According to him, the flight lieutenant was to marry “a very dear friend” before his death.
“Femi was preparing for his wedding later in October. We spoke about live band during the week and all. He was to marry a very dear friend. He flew the plane yesterday. Rest well Flt LT TO Asaniyi. Rest well everyone that died in the plane,” he wrote.
Another friend of Asaniyi also expressed shock over the incident, noting that the deceased had enlisted him as the best man for his forthcoming wedding.
“Flight lieutenant Asaniyi T.O, he flew the plane. We were planning his wedding, I was going to be his best man,” he wrote.
He also shared a video clip from the deceased’s introduction with his fiancée in March.
Alfred Ayodeji Olufade, another flight lieutenant who got married in February, also died in the crash.
