Nigeria declares three days of mourning after military plane crash kills 25

Nigeria has declared three days of national mourning after a Nigerian Air Force aircraft crashed in Ondo State, killing all 25 people on board and prompting President Bola Tinubu to order an investigation into the cause of the accident.

The ATR-42 aircraft, identified as NAF 931, crashed on Monday near a naval base in the Igbokoda area of Ilaje Local Government Area in southwestern Nigeria while travelling from Benin City to Lagos on what authorities described as a routine mission.

The Nigerian Air Force said on Tuesday that 25 people were aboard the aircraft, comprising 20 passengers and five crew members, and that no survivors had been found.

The service also released the names of those killed.

The casualty figure was initially reported as 32.

Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo said on Monday that preliminary information indicated that 25 passengers and seven crew members were aboard the aircraft. 

The Nigerian Air Force later revised the figure to 25, according to Reuters and the Associated Press.

Keyamo said air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft at about 9:13 a.m. local time on Monday after it departed Benin City.

Repeated attempts to establish radio contact were unsuccessful before authorities confirmed that the aircraft had crashed close to the naval base at Igbokoda.

The wreckage was located in a riverside area, with local residents reporting that the aircraft came down near water.

Witnesses told the Associated Press they heard a loud sound before the crash, while footage from the scene showed rescuers working around the wreckage.

The exact circumstances of the crash remain unclear.

Tinubu ordered the Nigerian Air Force to conduct a thorough investigation to establish what caused the aircraft to crash and identify measures to prevent similar accidents.

“This is a painful moment for our Armed Forces and for the entire nation,” Tinubu said, adding that military personnel “put their lives on the line every day to secure Nigeria” and that their sacrifice would not be forgotten.

The president also ordered national flags to be flown at half-mast during the three-day mourning period in honour of the victims.

The Nigerian Air Force said the names of the victims had been released after efforts to notify their families.

The five crew members included the flight captain, two co-pilots and two aircraft technicians.

Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, described the crash as a deeply painful moment for the Nigerian Air Force and the country and assured the victims’ families of the service’s support.

The crash adds to a history of deadly military aviation accidents in Nigeria and is likely to draw renewed scrutiny of aircraft safety, maintenance and operational procedures.

Investigators are expected to examine the aircraft, flight records, communications with air traffic controllers and conditions at the time of the crash as they seek to establish what went wrong.

For now, authorities have urged the public to rely on verified information while the investigation continues.