Ondo Air Crash: It Was Not A Routine Flight, Brother Of Late Victim Alleges

The brother of a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Sergeant who died in the October 5 aircraft crash in Ondo State has accused the Air Force of concealing information about the incident, insisting that the flight was not a routine mission from Benin to Lagos as officially reported.

In a video circulating on social media on Sunday, the bereaved man challenged the Air Force’s account of the flight, alleging that the aircraft had developed a technical fault before the fatal journey and had stopped in Benin after travelling from Abuja.

“How is the Nigerian Air Force putting it out that it was a routine mission from Benin to Lagos? That wasn’t a routine mission, Mr Sunday Aneke. That was a flight coming from Abuja. Why is the Air Force bringing out a false narrative to make it look less severe?” he asked.

He also expressed frustration over the delay in recovering his sister’s body and what he described as the lack of adequate communication from the Nigerian Air Force regarding the fate of the remains of the victims.

“A situation that should have been avoided has put my family and the families of other passengers and civilians in mourning. I lost my sister, who is a Sergeant in the Nigerian Air Force, to this tragic incident caused by the Nigerian Air Force.

“I am going to show you evidence. Since morning, I’ve been looking to see what will happen. Look at this,” he said while showing the screenshot.

He explained that two aspects of the conversation had raised questions for him, particularly the aircraft’s alleged technical condition and the circumstances under which his sister boarded it.

“There are two things I want to pick from these messages. One is that the aircraft was bad. The aircraft was coming from Abuja to Lagos and there was a snag. A snag is a technical error that needs to be checked, and it stopped in Benin. They asked them to wait until it was fixed,” he alleged.

The Nigerian Air Force had stated that its ATR-42 aircraft, identified as NAF 931, was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when it crashed in the Igbokoda area of Ondo State on Monday, October 5.

The aircraft crashed near a naval base in Igbokoda, in Ilaje Local Government Area of the state, after air traffic controllers reportedly lost contact with it at about 9:13 a.m.

The Air Force subsequently confirmed that all 25 people on board, comprising five crew members and 20 passengers, died in the accident. The service released the names of the victims on October 6.

The brother, however, maintained that the circumstances surrounding his sister’s journey needed further clarification, particularly regarding who authorised the aircraft to continue to Lagos after the alleged technical problem.

“What is really going on, Mr Sunday Aneke? Who gave that command, got that aircraft to be managed to Lagos?” he asked.

He also expressed regret that his sister had boarded the aircraft, saying he wished she had not made the journey.

Beyond the alleged technical fault, the bereaved man raised concerns about his sister’s financial circumstances, questioning how a serving Sergeant in the Nigerian Air Force could have as little as N17,000 in her bank account.

“Another message is, how does a Sergeant in the Nigerian Air Force not have N17,000 in her bank account? That is something I have been battling with my sister for years,” he said.

“My sister never has money. She gets paid in the middle of the month for the previous month,” he added.

He questioned the Air Force’s handling of communication with the families, particularly regarding assurances he said had been given about the recovery of the victims’ remains.

“My sister’s body can’t be found. I wish my sister did not enter that aircraft.

“The time I sent the money and the time the aircraft crashed is like ten minutes apart. They must have convinced her to enter,” he alleged.

The brother also expressed frustration that, five days after the incident, he had yet to receive the information he expected concerning his sister’s remains.

“You people say you will retrieve the bodies of the kids, and it’s been five days I haven’t heard anything from you guys as her next of kin,” he said.

The Nigerian Navy and Marine Police had begun searching for the victims’ bodies and the aircraft’s wreckage as part of efforts to account for those who died in the crash.

Following the accident, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directed the Nigerian Air Force to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.

The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, also visited the crash site on October 8, where he assessed the recovery operation and assured affected families of a comprehensive investigation.

The Air Force subsequently constituted a high-level panel comprising military and civilian aviation safety experts, including representatives of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, to investigate the incident and establish its cause.