According to statistics from House of Representatives on Tuesday revealed that 700,000 lives had so far been lost to the Boko Haram insurgency ravaging the North-East, besides another 2.2 million people displaced in the zone.
The figures were given in Abuja as the House debated a bill seeking to legalise the establishment of the North-East Development Commission.
The bill, which was sponsored by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, passed the second reading on Tuesday.
However, it was the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Yussuff Lasun, who presided over the House to allow Dogara to lead the debate on the bill.
Lasun said, “This bill is dealing with a very serious issue and we have to treat it as such.
“We are talking of 700,000 lives lost and as many as 2.2 million people displaced from their homes. It is very serious.”
