African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has called for an independent probe into the Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash in Igbokoda, Ondo State, insisting that officials responsible for maintenance and procurement should not be involved in investigating the incident.
Sowore made the call during a visit to the crash site on Friday. He shared a video documenting the visit on his X account on Saturday.
In the video, the activist faulted the handling of the aircraft wreckage and victims’ remains, stressing that all parts of the aircraft must be recovered and examined by specialists to determine 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 also questioned the manner in which the crash site and wreckage had been managed, warning that the approach could hinder efforts to uncover the circumstances surrounding the incident.
“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 further expressed outrage over the loss of lives, maintaining that 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 also disclosed that one of the victims had recently married, expressing sorrow over the lives lost in the accident.
In a post accompanying the video, Sowore said he travelled from Abuja to Akure on Friday before continuing by road to Igbokoda. He added that he met and marched alongside residents of affected communities 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 undertaking a routine mission from Benin City, Edo State, to Lagos.
The Air Force confirmed that all 25 people aboard the aircraft, comprising five crew members and 20 passengers, died in the crash.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, has pledged a comprehensive investigation, assuring that relevant evidence would be secured, documented and examined before any conclusions are drawn about the cause of the accident.