On October 8, 2026, Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, visited the crash site of a Nigerian Air Force aircraft in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of the state. The aircraft crashed on Monday, and as of the time of his visit, no survivor had been found, while 25 occupants were believed to have died in the crash. Aiyedatiwa described the incident as a national tragedy. The governor said search and recovery operations for the victims and the main wreckage were still ongoing.
According to Aiyedatiwa, the crash site was a "very gory sight," with body parts, clothes, and jackets belonging to Air Force personnel, as well as broken aircraft parts, recovered and preserved for further investigation. The main body of the aircraft had not been located and was believed to be submerged in the swamp. The difficulty of accessing the crash site prompted Aiyedatiwa to direct the Ministry of Works to deploy two amphibious machines, popularly known as swamp buggies, to create wider access through the waterways.
The machines enabled rescue teams to move larger boats closer to the crash site and were also being used to excavate the soil in search of other parts of the wreckage. Aiyedatiwa said the aircraft might have gone completely into the mud because of the depth of the swamp. "From construction experience and analysis of this area, for you to get to refusal level, it will get to about 30 kilometres deep," he said. The governor also disclosed that jet fuel was flowing into the water, resulting in pollution of the area with aviation fuel.
Aiyedatiwa expressed relief that the aircraft did not crash in the middle of the community, saying such an occurrence could have resulted in a major catastrophe. According to him, residents who witnessed the incident said the aircraft appeared to be coming down with a sound suggesting an engine problem and was almost landing within the community. He said the pilot managed to manoeuvre the aircraft away from the community before it landed about 200 metres away and went into the swamp.
The governor commiserated with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, over the loss of the officers. He also sympathised with the families of the deceased and the Nigerian Air Force, describing the victims as young Nigerians who had signed up to defend the territorial integrity of the country. Aiyedatiwa noted that President Tinubu had declared three days of mourning and ordered that the national flag be flown at half-mast in honour of the officers who died in active service.
Aiyedatiwa urged Nigerians to continue praying for the families of the deceased. The governor, who described himself as a man of faith, said there was still a possibility of a miracle, citing the biblical accounts of Lazarus, who was raised after four days, and Jonah, who was swallowed by a fish. He, however, said that based on what had been seen at the crash site, he doubted whether any of the victims could still be found alive.
Meanwhile, the Commander of the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base, Igbokoda, Captain Andy Alemongwa, briefed the governor on the progress of the search and recovery operation. Aiyedatiwa visited the site alongside personnel of the Nigerian Navy and Air Force, divers, the Director of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, in the Southwest, the Director of the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and local residents who had participated in rescue efforts since Monday.
Key points
- The pilot of the aircraft is the only one who can explain the effort made to manoeuvre the aircraft away from the community before the crash.
- The governor deployed two amphibious machines to create wider access to the crash site.
- President Tinubu declared three days of mourning and ordered that the national flag be flown at half-mast in honour of the officers who died in active service.
