All 32 dead in Nigeria military plane crash, Tinubu orders probe

All 32 people aboard a Nigerian Air Force plane that crashed in the southwestern Ondo state on Monday have been killed, President Bola Tinubu said.

The aircraft, an ATR-42 twin-engine turboprop with tail number NGR 931, was on a “routine mission” from Benin City in southern Nigeria to Lagos when it went down at Igbokoda, in Ilaje local government area, shortly after 9:00am (0800 GMT), the president and the air force said. The 32 aboard were 25 passengers and seven crew members.

Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo said earlier on X that the plane had crashed near a naval base. Air force spokesman Ehimen Ejodame said search and rescue operations were launched “in coordination with relevant authorities and emergency response agencies”.

In a statement issued by his special adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu extended his “deepest condolences” to the families of the victims and to the air force hierarchy. “This is a painful moment for our armed forces and for the entire nation,” he said, adding that the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, had briefed him and that he had directed the air force to “immediately commence a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash to prevent future occurrences”.

It is one of the worst air disasters in recent years in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.

This is a development from Flip News’ Monday coverage of the crash, when casualties had not yet been confirmed.