Fresh details have emerged on the final journey of the Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft that crashed in the Obe-Rebby swamp in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
Sources familiar with the incident said the aircraft, marked NAF 931, had departed Abuja for Lagos on Sunday, October 5, 2026, carrying passengers who were scheduled to disembark in Benin City, Edo State.
The aircraft reportedly landed in Benin but developed an engine fault before it could continue its journey to Lagos.
One of the passengers travelling to Benin said the aircraft was expected to proceed to Lagos after dropping off the passengers in Benin. However, the reported technical problem forced the aircraft to remain at the airport overnight.
“The aircraft was then worked upon by technicians in Benin overnight. So the aircraft was grounded overnight in Benin City and after engineers claimed to have rectified the fault, it took off on Monday morning for Lagos before it crashed minutes after takeoff in Ondo,” a source disclosed.
A relative of one of the victims also said the passenger had informed the family about the technical problem after arriving in Benin.
The relative said the victim had originally been expected in Lagos on Sunday but told the family that the aircraft had developed a fault and that he would travel once it was certified fit to fly.
“He actually had nothing to do in Benin. It was an Abuja-to-Lagos flight that had to drop passengers in Benin,” the relative said.
The accounts contradict the impression that the aircraft was simply conducting a routine Benin-to-Lagos mission when the crash occurred.
A source questioned the description of the flight as a routine military mission, arguing that the aircraft had been used to transport passengers from Abuja to Lagos, with a stop in Benin to drop off some of them.
He also said the aircraft, alongside NAF 930, had been used to transport VIPs to different locations across the country.
“Why is the NAF claiming the aircraft was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when the incident happened?” the source asked.
“The affected passengers boarded the aircraft in Abuja and were going to Lagos. It wasn’t on any routine mission. They made it look like the aircraft was on its official role of surveillance, but not at all. This aircraft and NAF 930 were known for transporting VIPs all around Nigeria.”
Another military source confirmed that technicians had worked on the aircraft in Benin on Sunday before it departed for Lagos the following morning.
“They worked on the aircraft throughout Sunday. The technicians in Benin said they had fixed it. That was why it spent the night in Benin and left on Monday morning for Lagos. Unfortunately, it crashed a few minutes after takeoff,” the source said.
The aircraft subsequently lost contact with air traffic controllers at about 9:13 a.m. on Monday, shortly after taking off from Benin Airport.
It later crashed near the Naval Base in Igbokoda, with the wreckage located in the Obe-Rebby swamp.
Rescue operations were still ongoing at the crash site as of Wednesday morning, more than 48 hours after the incident.
No bodies of the victims had been recovered from the swamp as of the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress has demanded clarification over the presence of civilians, including children, on the military aircraft.
- Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC National Publicity Secretary
The party’s national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the Nigerian Air Force’s description of the flight as a “routine mission” was insufficient to explain the circumstances surrounding the passengers’ presence on board.
Abdullahi said the investigation demanded by the party must establish the purpose of the mission, identify who authorised the passengers to travel on the aircraft and determine the circumstances that led to the crash.
He said the families of the victims deserved answers, while the country deserved accountability over the incident.