The Nigeria Air Force is yet to release the names of the victims of the NAF aircraft crash which happened in Igbokoda, Ondo State, on Monday.

MyNigeria gathered that the military aircraft with tail number NGR 931 was en route to Lagos from Benin. The wreckage was located on Monday and a national response was launched immediately.

Preliminary information suggests 25 passengers and 7 crew members were on board. Their names have not been made public by authorities 24 hours after the crash.

Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared a three-day national mourning for Air Force personnel who died in the crash of a military plane today.

He also directed that flags should be flown at half-mast throughout the country as a mark of respect to the officers.

President Tinubu had earlier expressed profound sadness over the crash of the Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 jet.

He said, “This is a painful moment for our Armed Forces and for the entire nation. Our Air Force personnel put their lives on the line every day to secure Nigeria. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten," President Tinubu declared in a condolence message to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, and all officers, airmen, and airwomen of the Nigerian Air Force.

“The Chief of Air Staff has briefed me, and I have directed the Nigerian Air Force to immediately commence a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash to prevent future occurrences.

“I commend the Nigerian Air Force for activating an immediate search and rescue operation following the accident.”

Also, Vice President Kashim Shettima has paid tribute to the officers who lost their lives in Monday’s Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash in Ondo State, saying their supreme sacrifice in the service of the nation will never be forgotten.

VP Shettima specifically assured the bereaved families that the Federal Government's responsibility to them would not end with words of condolence, noting that a nation that asks its citizens to serve must also remember those who pay the ultimate price in that service.

In a statement on Tuesday morning, the Vice President conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased, as well as officers, airmen and airwomen of the Nigerian Air Force, describing the tragedy as a painful national loss.

“Thirty-two of our compatriots left on a routine mission in the service of their country. They were colleagues, friends and comrades. But beyond the uniforms they wore and the ranks they held, they were husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters.

“Somewhere today, there is an empty chair. Somewhere, a family is still trying to comprehend the sudden silence left by someone who was expected to return home. These are the human faces of the supreme sacrifice we speak about as a nation,” he said.

ASA