Having three military air crashes in two months is devastating — Namdas

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Army, Abdulrazak Namdas, has decried the safety of the Nigerian airspace.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, the lawmaker representing Jada/Ganye/MayoBelwa/Toungo Federal Constituency of Adamawa State described as devastating, a situation whereby the nation has recorded three air mishaps in two months.

He also called on the Federal Government to urgently remedy the situation to avoid further loss of lives.

“We have to be very cautious these days, we have recorded three air crashes in two months. This is very devastating,” the lawmaker said two days the nation recorded another plane crash in Kaduna State.

“We all have to go back to the drawing board and see what the reason is. It shows that our safety record is really very low and that can be very demoralising.”

The nation was thrown into mourning after a Nigerian Air Force jet crashed at the Kaduna International Airport due to bad weather.

Victims on board the ill-fated aircraft were the former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, Brigadier Generals Ahmed Kuliya, O Olayinka, and MI Abdulkadir; Majors N Hamza, LA Hayat; Sergeants O Adesina, and Umar; as well as Aircraftman OM Oyedepo, Flt Lt TO Asaniyi, and Flt Lt AA Olufade.

The Beechcraft 350 aircraft conveying the military officers, with registration number 5N-R203, was billed to land at the Nigerian Airforce Base in the Mando area of Kaduna but diverted to land at the civil airport.

Despite the demise of the Army chief, the lawmaker believes there are still many professionals who have all it takes to effectively fight terrorism, banditry and other security threats.

He believes that with more funding for the armed forces, a lot will be achieved in winning the counterterrorism war.

His remarks come three months after a Nigerian military plane crashed short of a runway in Abuja, killing seven people on board.

The spokesman of the Air Force, Air Vice Marshall Ibikun Daramola had on February 21 said the Air Force plane had reported engine failure.

The plane was on the way to Minna, in the northern state of Niger to try to rescue 42 people who had been kidnapped.

Two months after, a NAF Alpha-Jet went missing while on an operation in the northeastern region of the country.

NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, confirmed this in a statement issued on April 1.

He said the aircraft lost contact with radar while on an interdiction mission in support of ground troops fighting insurgency in Borno State.

Then on May 21, a plane military crash crashed in Kaduna State. (Channels TV)