The House of Representatives has called for the immediate evacuation of Nigerians in Ukraine following Russia’s attack on Thursday, overriding President Muhammadu Buhari’s failure to take urgent action to protect Nigerians caught in the Black Sea crossfire.

The motion for evacuation was moved by Ahmed Munir at the plenary on Thursday. Lawmakers also took to social media to make the announcement. 

The parliament offered to “shoulder the immediate evacuation of Nigerians, students from Ukraine,” a bulletin from the House communications said on Thursday afternoon.

Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila urged Leke Abejide to interact with the Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, to evacuate Nigerians from Ukraine by February 28. The House Committee on Foreign Affairs has been mandated to liaise with the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

At the time of filing this report, it is unclear how the legislators intend to carry out its resolution. Ukraine closed its airspace to civilian flights on Thursday after Russia launched  land, sea and air invasions while Europe’s aviation regulator warned about hazards to flying in bordering regions. A spokesman for Air Peace did not immediately return a request seeking comments as to deadlines.

The new development comes after weeks of Ukraine-Russia military tensions. Peoples Gazette had reported on Nigeria’s silence on evacuating its nationals living in Ukraine while countries like the United Kingdom, Israel and others urged their nationals to leave the European country. 

Earlier, a statement from the Nigerian Embassy in Ukraine had asked citizens to secure themselves, saying that they were “responsible for their personal security and safety.”

On Thursday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his decision to begin a special military operation in response to the republics’ request. Blasts were heard in Kyiv, the capital city, in Kharkiv, and in Kramatorsk in the region of Donetsk after Mr Putin’s address.