The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has constituted a specialized board of inquiry to investigate the cause of a military aircraft crash that occurred in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The ill-fated aircraft—an ATR-42 with tail number NAF 931 on a routine flight from Lagos to Benin City went down in a dense swamp near a naval base on Monday, October 5, 2026.

Official clarifications from NAF spokesman Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame confirmed that 25 people were on board, comprising active flight crew, military personnel traveling as passengers, and civilians.

Search and recovery operations led by joint military formations, the Nigeria Police Force, emergency agencies, and local divers remain active. Speaking during an assessment visit to the site, Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and State Commissioner of Police Felix Ohuagwu confirmed that no survivors have been found.

Specialized amphibious equipment—including swamp buggies provided by a private construction firm—alongside state-of-the-art sonar scan units from the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Department have been deployed to clear thick vegetation and map the submerged fuselage beneath the murky waters.

In the wake of the tragedy, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared three days of national mourning while ordering a full-scale investigation into the incident.

Meanwhile, Minister of Aviation Festus Keyamo and Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sunday Aneke agreed to establish a joint committee between the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and NAF to strengthen cross-sector safety collaboration, airworthiness certification, and technical training.

The crash site in Igbokoda presents extreme geographical hurdles, as the aircraft's primary fuselage remains deeply submerged in a tidal swamp. Recovery crews are utilizing heavy clearing machinery and naval underwater sonar tracking to locate black boxes and extract the wreckage.

ID