People and rescuers gather at the site where a Nigerian air force plane crashed while approaching the Abuja airport runway, according to the aviation minister, in Abuja, Nigeria February 21, 2021. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde
The minority caucus in the house of representatives has demanded a “system-wide investigation” into the military aircraft crashes in the country.
Ibrahim Attahiru, chief of army staff, and 10 other officers died on Friday in an air crash that occurred near the Kaduna international airport.
With the latest incident, the Nigerian military has lost 20 officers to aircraft crashes within a space of three months.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Ndudi Elumelu, minority leader of the lower chamber, expressed concern over the incident, and condoled with the family members of the victims.
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“The minority caucus is grief-stricken by this huge tragedy which has befallen our dear nation and we demand a full scale investigation into the unfortunate incident,” he said.
“Gen. Attahiru and the other officers were very courageous and patriotic soldiers, who gave all in the defence of our dear fatherland.
“Our caucus calls for a system-wide investigation into the cause of the crash, as well as the last two crashes of our military planes which also led to the loss of lives of our gallant and promising officers.
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“As representatives of the people, we stand with the Army, the entire military as well as the families of the Chief of Army Staff and other gallant officers and men who have paid the supreme price in service to secure our nation.”
The minority caucus also urged the federal government to put urgent measures in place to ensure the safety of military officers.
They also encouraged the military “not to be weighed down by the tragic event but to remain focused and undeterred so as to ensure that the heroes did not die in vain”.
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