A Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 carrying 25 passengers and seven crew members crashed on Monday morning in the riverine Igbokoda area of Ondo State while flying from Benin City to Lagos, and authorities confirmed by evening that everyone on board had died. President Bola Tinubu declared three days of national mourning, ordered flags flown at half-mast nationwide, and directed the Air Force to open an immediate investigation into the cause.
Contact lost after takeoff
Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo said the aircraft, identified with tail number NGR 931, disappeared from radio contact after departing Benin on a routine mission. He put the last attempted contact at 09:13 local time. Search teams later located wreckage submerged in swamp water close to a Nigerian Navy base at Igbokoda, southwest of Lagos.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said Tinubu had been briefed by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, and offered condolences to the families of those killed as well as to serving airmen and airwomen. Channels Television quoted a military source confirming there were no survivors among the 32 people aboard.
ISR aircraft in a stretched fleet
Reporting from Abuja, Reuters described the flight as a military transport moving personnel between southern Nigeria and the commercial capital. Independent analysts noted the lost airframe was an ATR 42-500MP variant configured for maritime patrol and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance work—capabilities the Air Force relies on across multiple internal security fronts.
HumAngle, a Nigerian security-focused outlet, said the crash was the deadliest involving a Nigerian military aircraft since 1992 and would shrink an already small pool of specialised ISR platforms. The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau expressed condolences on Tuesday and said investigative responsibility for the military accident rests with the Air Force, though NSIB offered technical support if formally requested.
Mourning and what investigators face
The Air Force said it activated search-and-rescue coordination with emergency agencies at the site, where footage circulated on social media showed boats moving through waterways as responders worked in difficult terrain. Tinubu commended those efforts while asking Nigerians to await official updates rather than speculation.
The service has begun releasing names of the dead, with early lists weighted toward military personnel. Tinubu said Air Force members "put their lives on the line every day to secure Nigeria" and pledged that their sacrifice would be remembered. Vice President Kashim Shettima and other senior officials issued parallel statements of mourning.
Keyamo and Tinubu both referred to the airframe as an ATR-42 turboprop, a type the manufacturer markets for roughly 30 to 50 passengers depending on configuration. Investigators will need to recover flight recorders if possible, interview maintenance and dispatch staff in Benin and Lagos, and reconstruct weather and air-traffic data from the short sector. NSIB urged the public to rely on Air Force statements as the inquiry proceeds.