President Bola Tinubu announced a three‑day period of national mourning after a military aircraft crashed in Ondo State on Monday, killing all 32 people on board.
An ATR‑42, carrying 25 passengers and seven crew members, was on a routine flight from Benin City to Lagos when it went down near a naval base in Igbokoda. Rescuers found the wreckage close to a swamp, with clothes and shoes scattered beside the fuselage and smoke rising from the site.
The president expressed his deepest condolences, ordered national flags to be flown at half‑mast across the country, and called for a thorough investigation to prevent future accidents.
Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo confirmed that the aircraft, tail number NGR 931, had disappeared from the radar at 09:13 hrs and that rescue teams were still searching for survivors. He said that efforts to contact the plane over the radio were unsuccessful.
The ATR‑42 normally carries between 30 and 50 passengers. Details of the victims will be released once families have been notified, according to Air Force officials.
Nigeria has experienced several military aviation tragedies in recent years, including the 2021 crash that killed army chief Lt‑Gen Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 officers in Kaduna, and a 2023 incident near Abuja that claimed seven lives.
