House of reps postpones security summit over death of army chief

The house of representatives has postponed a national security summit over the death of Ibrahim Attahiru, chief of army staff.

Attahiru and 10 military officers died in an air crash that occurred near Kaduna international airport on Friday.

They were buried on Saturday at the national military cemetery in Abuja.

In April, the lower legislative chamber set up an ad-hoc committee to organise a security summit as part of efforts to restore peace across the country.

The summit, which was scheduled to commence on May 24, has been postponed till May 26.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Chinedu Akubueze, clerk of the house of representatives, said the postponement became necessary because the army chief was one of the major stakeholders that would have taken part in the summit.

“This is to inform the general public that the House of Representatives has postponed its national security summit scheduled to hold from Monday, May 24, 2021, in honour of the late Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 other military officers and men that died as a result of air mishap on Friday,” the statement reads.

“The security summit will now kick off on Wednesday, May 26, 2021.

“The House shares in the grief and sorrow of the families of the late top military officers and prayed that the Almighty God will grant them eternal rest.

“It should be noted that the postponement became necessary as the late Army Chief was one of the major stakeholders that would have taken part in the summit.”