The House of Representatives has set up an ad-hoc committee to unravel the lapses that led to the death of soldiers at Metele village in Guzamala Local Government Area of Borno State.
The committee was set up after the lawmakers deliberated on a motion of urgent public importance during Tuesday’s at the National Assembly in Abuja.
Deputy Minority Leader of the House, Chukwuka Onyema, sponsored the motion one week after the Senate deliberated on the attack by Boko Haram insurgents on a battalion of Nigerian soldiers in Metele.
In his words, Onyema said, “The house also notes that the initial figures of casualty were put at 44.
“But as more details emerge, it is now confirmed that 118 soldiers and officers were killed together with their commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Sakaba, while about 150 more soldiers and officers are still missing.”
In their various contributions, lawmakers from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) put their political affiliations aside and discussed who should be held responsible.
An APC member from Plateau State, Edward Pwajok, called for the replacement of the service chiefs, stressing that the killing of the soldiers in the line of duty was condemnable.
“Whatever pressure you put on this service chiefs, I do not think that anything good can come out of them,” Pwajok said.
“Why can they not be changed? Is there a pact between them and the Commander-in-Chief? Mr Speaker, this is intolerable.”