Senate Suspends National Security Summit Over NAF Crash

The Senate has postponed indefinitely its planned two-day National Security Summit following the tragic crash of a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) ATR-42 aircraft in Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, which claimed the lives of 25 officers and seven crew members.

The National Security Summit, originally scheduled for Monday, October 12, and Tuesday, October 13, was convened by the upper chamber to examine Nigeria’s worsening security challenges and develop practical measures to strengthen the protection of lives and property across the country.

The Leader of the Senate and Chairman of the Senate Ad hoc Committee on the National Security Summit, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, announced the postponement in a statement he personally signed on Tuesday in Abuja.

Bamidele said the decision followed the declaration of three days of national mourning by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in honour of the military personnel who died in the crash.

The president had also directed that the national flag be flown at half-mast nationwide as the country mourns the fallen officers and crew members.

Explaining the Senate’s decision, Bamidele said the summit had been fully planned after the completion of the zonal public hearings, but the tragedy involving the NAF aircraft made it necessary for the Senate to suspend the event.

“The Senate has resolved to defer the National Security Summit till further notice in honour of the victims of the tragic crash involving a Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft in Igbokoda, Ondo State,” he said.

The Senate Leader said the postponement was also in recognition of the gravity of the national tragedy and the period of mourning declared by the president.

He added that a fresh date for the summit would be announced in due course, urging stakeholders who had prepared to participate in the event to bear with the Senate.

The summit, according to the Senate, was designed to bring together key stakeholders to review Nigeria’s perennial security challenges and develop pragmatic recommendations capable of addressing threats to lives, property and national stability.

The upper chamber had already undertaken zonal public hearings as part of preparations for the summit, with the ad hoc committee concluding arrangements for the national gathering before Monday’s aircraft disaster.

Bamidele expressed the Senate’s condolences to President Tinubu, the Nigerian Armed Forces, particularly the Nigerian Air Force, and the families of the deceased personnel.

The Senate, he said, mourned the officers and crew members who “paid the supreme price in active service to the fatherland”.

The Senate Leader stated: “The Senate extends its heartfelt condolences to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR; the Nigerian Armed Forces, particularly the Nigerian Air Force; and the families of the gallant officers and crew members who paid the supreme price in active service to the fatherland.”

He appealed to all stakeholders who had been expected at the summit to take note of the national disaster and understand the decision to defer the meeting.

“We appeal to all stakeholders to take note of the national disaster and bear with the Senate during this period of national mourning,” Bamidele added.

The postponement means that the Senate’s planned national conversation on the country’s security challenges will now await a new date.

The summit was expected to provide an opportunity for federal and state authorities, security agencies, lawmakers, experts and other stakeholders to assess the country’s security architecture and propose measures for improving the safety of Nigerians.

No new date was announced in the statement, with the Senate saying the details would be communicated in due course.