The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, alongside other prominent personalities, on Wednesday held a candle light memorial in honour of Nigerian-born Canadian scholar, Professor Pius Adesanmi in Abuja.

Late Adesanmi was among the 157 passengers and crew on board the Ethiopian airline, ET 302, which crashed en route Nairobi, Kenya from Addis Ababa. None of the people on board the aircraft survived the crash.

Friends and members of civil society organisations used the opportunity to pay tribute to the late columnist as they signed the condolence register, which was opened at the Unity Fountain in his honour.

The Senate President admitted having little knowledge of the late academic but commended his criticisms, which he said were important to hold the political class accountable.

Another Nigerian, Ambassador Abiodun Bashua, also died in the crash. The late Bashua was a former Joint Special Representative for the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur, Sudan.

The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft crashed minutes after take-off from the Addis Ababa airport, prompting many countries, including Nigeria, Canada, and China to ban the plane from flying as airlines also grounded the planes in their fleet.

The Unites States has also joined the nations around the world in placing a ban on the Boeing plane model amid concerns over its safety.

“We’re going to be issuing an emergency order of prohibition to ground all flights of the 737 MAX 8 and the 737 MAX 9 planes,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

He added, “The safety of the American people and all peoples is our paramount concern.”

•Sourced from a Channels TV report