By Our Correspondent

The Senate has resolved to investigate budgetary provisions for maintenance of Nigerian Air Force, NAF, aircraft following the crash in Igbokoda, Ondo State, that claimed 25 lives.

The resolution followed a motion by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Air Force, Senator Osita Ngwu, on recurring military aircraft accidents and need to strengthen aviation safety.

Presenting the motion at plenary on Tuesday, Ngwu said the NAF ATR-42 aircraft with tail number NGR 931 crashed near the Naval Base in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area, Ondo, on October 5, 2026, while on routine mission from Benin City to Lagos.

Ngwu expressed concern that recurring military crashes have led to loss of personnel, raising questions about aircraft maintenance, ageing fleets and compliance with safety standards.

He said operational readiness and airworthiness of military aircraft are critical to national security, intelligence gathering and defence.

The lawmaker warned that failure to conduct transparent investigation into the crash could undermine efforts to prevent similar tragedies.

Consequently, the Senate urged the Federal Government to prioritise funding for regular maintenance and replacement of ageing military aircraft to improve safety and protect personnel.

It mandated its Committees on Air Force and Aviation to visit the crash site, engage NAF authorities and conduct comprehensive audit of serviceability and airworthiness of presidential and military fleets.

The upper chamber also called on NAF and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB, to investigate immediate and remote causes of the crash and make findings public.

By George Mgbeleke

Pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has specifically asked the minister or Defence General Chritopher Musa (rtd) to mobilise every available resources in the Defence architecture of Nigeria to rescue the family members of Mr. Ahmed Zakka together with his wife and his toddler.

HURIWA has also tasked all the military service chiefs, the Director General of the Department of State Services, the IGP and the NSA to direct for the implementation of strategic joint operations of the security agencies to rescue the over 2,000 citizens kidnapped by terrorists just as the terrorists must be apprehended, prosecuted and punished in the most severest of ways.

HURIWA also demanded for the umpteenth time that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should immediately excuse the two ministers in the ministry of Defence namely General Christopher Gwabin Musa the Defence minister and Senator Bello Mattawalle the minister of State for Defence, from the politically distracting duties of coordination of sections within the elaborate Presidential Campaign Council for the re-election of the incumbent president just as the Rights group argued strongly that it is a massive disservice that president Tinubu is doing by insisting that the two key stakeholders in the ministry of Defence should be shouldered with added partisan commitments as heads of certain departments within the political campaign Council at this perilous time that Nigeria is confronting an all out war declared on Nigerians by a motley of armed non-state actors, terrorists and genocidal killers.

HURIWA called the attention of both the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria President Tinubu and the minister of Defence to the video posted by the terrorists from a deadly jungle located in Kaduna State which is the homestead of the minister of Defence General Christopher Musa in which the distraught father of the toddler carrying the innocent baby that could be seen weeping uncontrollably being carried by the baby’s tortured father and his distressed and dehumanised wife who were asking for the help of the government and people of Nigeria to secure their freedom from captivity. The video of this captured, tortured, dehumanised and mistreated baby and the baby’s parents should pinch the consciences of the political office holders in Nigeria to prioritise the security and well-being of citizens far above partisan considerations.

“How does the minister of Defence General Chritopher Musa feel to attend the inauguration of the expanded and revised Presidential Campaign Council of All Progressives Congress on Wednesday when terrorists have continuously kidnapped citizens from his state/homestead and several other flashpoints across the length and breath of Nigeria whilst the duo of ministers of Defence and minister of state for defence are fully committed to playing significant roles in the Presidential Council of the APC thereby abandoning the mandate of their high public offices?

HURIWA obsetved thus: “We are not doing this clarion call for the rescue of this baby and the parents to publicly call out the minister of Defence or his counterpart, but this is a Compassionate appeal to them and the president to immediately activate mechanisms to rescue this innocent baby and his Parents Mr & Mrs. Ahmed Zakka who were abducted by fully armed terrorists from their Millennium City House located in Kaduna metropolitan area.”

The Rights group in a media statement endorsed by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko stated that constitutionally, the president is obligated to secure lives and property of citizens as his primary constitutional duty even as the minister of Defence and the minister of State for Defence are the front line supervisors of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. HURIWA therefore wonders why the president has burdened them with political campaign roles when terrorists have declared war on Nigeria in a way that appears that President Tinubu is a man whose ‘house’ literally is on fire and he is busy chasing rats”.

The Rights group said it is a massive failure on the part of this administration to watch almost helplessly as over two thousand citizens are currently being held in captivity by terrorists as if to say that Nigeria is a failed state. The Rights group stated that this case of a toddler being carried by his father and his mother that had just delivered the innocent baby as they are in the captivity of terrorists demonstrates a lack of commitment, determination and the will-power on the part of president Tinubu to fulfil the constitutional obligations of guaranteeing security for Nigerians and ensure the well-being and welfare of the citizens.

By Utheman Baba-Naseer,Minna

The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Niger State,.Nasiru Mua’azu has stressed the importance of establishing the Judicial Commission of Inquiry on the death Thof 37 alleged illegal miners in the custody of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna.

He explained that the Commission of Inquiry was constituted to unravel the circumstance surrounding the death of the 37 individuals while in detention at the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corpse (NSCDC).

The Attorney General stated this at the inaugural sitting of the nine members of the Judicial Commission Inquiry Tuesday, in Minna.

According to the Attorney General,the Niger State governor Mohammed Umar Bago while constituting the Judicial Commission of Inquiry,mandated it to unravel the remote caused of the death,of the individuals,and other circumstances that led to their death.

He emphasized that the commission is tasked with the duty to investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrest,detention,and the deaths of the 37 individuals while in the detention facility of the NSCDC custody.

Adding that the nine members commission is bound by rules and guidelines and expected to hear from relevant government agencies,security authorities, families of the deceased and other stakeholders who may assist the commission with

The Attorney General explained that the constitution of the Commission follows a painstaking process in line with the provision of extant laws and the 19999 constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

He further added that the Commission is also expected to examine whether there were any lapses,violations of established procedures while the deceased persons were in custody and make appropriate recommendations to the state government based on its findings.

Fielding questions from journalists at the Commission Secretariat in Minna,the Secretary of the Commission, Mohammed Aliyu Kutigi Esq,disclosed that the Secretariat has only received three petitions and is still waiting for more.

He said with the inaugural sitting of the commission,it will commence its official sitting from Tuesday,the 13th,of October,2026 where it will take evidence and witnesses during the formal sitting.

The Commission,according to the Secretary, will listen to all testimonies and evidence of the witnesses that will appear before the Commission assuring that all evidence and the testimonies of witnesses will be given the desired attention.

“ Like I said so far, we have just received three petitions from witnesses. And we are still expecting more written petitions from individuals and members of the public including lawyers.

“ And the commission will treat each and every of the petitions received with absolute and deserving attention so that at the end of the one month timeline of the commission we submit our report and our recommendations to the governor for his final say,” he declared.

He called on members of the public to feel free to file their complaint and petition to the commission to look into it and submit its findings and recommendations.