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Save Nigeria Group USA (SNG-USA) has called for a transparent investigation and comprehensive aviation safety reforms following the death of 25 people in a Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft crash in Ondo State.
In a statement made available to the Daily Sun and signed by SNG-USA President, Stephen Osemwegie; Media Director, Victor Onyeka-Ben; and Public Relations Director, Autumn Miller, the group said the tragedy demanded a thorough examination of the circumstances surrounding the crash.
The NAF aircraft, identified as NAF 931, crashed in the Igbokoda area of Ilaje Local Government Area, Ondo State, on Monday, October 5, while conducting a routine mission from Benin City to Lagos. The Air Force subsequently confirmed that 25 people were aboard five crew members and 20 passengers and that there were no survivors.
SNG-USA expressed condolences to the families, colleagues and communities affected by the crash, stressing that the victims were “not merely numbers” but “sons and daughters, parents and relatives, military personnel, professionals, and fellow Nigerians whose lives mattered profoundly to those who knew and loved them.”
The group also acknowledged President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of three days of national mourning and his directive that national flags be flown at half-mast across the country. It welcomed the President’s order for the Nigerian Air Force to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash.
SNG-USA said, “While military aviation involves inherent operational risks, every aircraft accident resulting in the loss of life demands a rigorous examination of the technical, operational, maintenance, human, and institutional factors involved. The findings must be transparent, evidence-based, and followed by meaningful corrective action.”
The group called for a thorough, independent and transparent investigation, saying the process should meet the highest standards of professionalism, independence, transparency and accountability.
It said, “Where appropriate and consistent with Nigeria’s laws and military protocols, relevant national and international aviation-safety expertise should be utilized.”
SNG-USA also called for comprehensive safety and fleet assessments, urging the Nigerian Air Force to undertake appropriate technical and operational reviews of its transport, surveillance, reconnaissance and logistical aviation assets.
It said particular attention should be paid to “aircraft maintenance, airworthiness, crew readiness, flight operations, safety management systems, and emergency-response procedures.”
The group further demanded strengthened aviation safety protocols, saying lessons from the investigation should be converted into practical improvements in “maintenance procedures, crew training, operational risk management, aircraft monitoring, communications, emergency response, and other relevant safety systems.”
On technical assistance, SNG-USA called for appropriate national and international technical cooperation, saying Nigerian authorities should engage qualified national and international aviation safety institutions and experts where additional expertise was required.
However, it stressed that such cooperation should “complement, rather than undermine, the authority of Nigeria’s competent institutions and the Nigerian Air Force in investigating this military aviation accident.”
The diaspora group also called for continued support for the bereaved families, saying they should receive timely information, appropriate assistance, dignity and sustained institutional support throughout the investigation and beyond.
“Their privacy and grief should be respected,” it added.
SNG-USA said accountability and compassion should accompany the mourning process, arguing that honouring the victims required more than grieving their deaths.
The group said, “Honouring the victims requires not only mourning their loss, but also learning from the tragedy and taking every reasonable measure to reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future.”
It urged the authorities to ensure that the investigation produces clear findings and meaningful corrective action, saying the families of the deceased, the Nigerian Air Force and the wider Nigerian public deserve answers on the circumstances surrounding the crash.
