Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has called for an independent investigation into the Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash in Igbokoda, Ondo State, insisting that experts outside the military’s maintenance and procurement structures should examine the incident.
Sowore made the call during a visit to the crash site on Friday, sharing a video of the visit on his X account on Saturday.
He criticised the handling of the wreckage and victims’ remains, arguing that all parts of the aircraft should be recovered and examined to establish the cause of the crash.
“Those who are responsible for maintenance, procurements should not be the ones investigating what happened. We should bring outsiders,” he said.
Sowore questioned whether the handling of the wreckage would allow investigators to determine precisely what happened.
“That’s not how to investigate accidents. How it is done all over the world is that every part of that aircraft must be retrieved and pinned back together by experts because if there had been a bomb blast, how would we know?” he said.
He also condemned the loss of lives, saying the incident should not be treated as an ordinary occurrence.
“Something went wrong, and it’s fundamental. And we are just looking at this and saying, oh, they have visited. No, it’s not a matter of the visitors. It’s a matter of the passengers. People died,” he said.
The activist further lamented the deaths, noting that one of the victims had recently married.
In a post accompanying the video, Sowore said he travelled from Abuja to Akure on Friday before proceeding to Igbokoda, where he met and marched with affected community members and grassroots leaders.
The Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft, with registration number NAF 931, crashed in Igbokoda, the headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area, on October 5 while on a routine mission from Benin City, Edo State, to Lagos.
The Air Force confirmed that all 25 people on board, comprising five crew members and 20 passengers, died in the crash.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, has pledged a thorough investigation, saying relevant evidence would be secured, documented and examined before any conclusion is reached on the cause of the accident.
