Military Plane Crash: House Minority Caucus Grieves, Mourns COAS, Others

By Tom Okpe

The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives expresses shock over the Friday crash of a military aircraft which claimed the lives of the Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 other gallant officers, demanding full investigation to the crash.

In a statement on Saturday, signed by Ndudi Elumelu, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and made available to Daily Times says, the Minority caucus is grief-stricken by this huge tragedy which befalls our dear nation and “we demand a full scale investigation into the unfortunate incident.”

READ ALSO: House C’ttee on Airforce mourns Army Chief, others

According to Elumelu, “Gen. Attahiru and the other officers were very courageous and patriotic soldiers, who gave all in the defence of our dear fatherland. 

“We charge 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. 

“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.

“As representatives of the people, we stand with the Army, the entire military, families of the Chief of Army Staff, other gallant officers and men who have paid the supreme price in service to secure our nation.

“Our caucus prays to God to console them at this hour of grief.

“We urge the Federal Government to take urgent steps to ensure the safety of our fighting men and women, who are daily putting their lives on line for the security of our nation,” it added.