Record-keeping Problems Led to Confusion Over NAF Crash Details - Ex-SSS Director

A former Director of the State Security Service (SSS), Mike Ejiofor, said that the mixed-up numbers about the people on the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) plane that crashed in Ondo State came from poor record-keeping.

Ejiofor explained that if the passengers and crew members had been properly documented, it would have been easier to know the exact number of people on board and who was affected.

The NAF released the names of 25 people on the flight, instead of the 32 reported earlier by government officials.

Ejiofor spoke on Arise Television’s Daybreak programme on Wednesday. He said the authorities should have used the aircraft’s manifest to identify everyone on board.

“It goes again to the issue of data keeping; it would have been easier to get the manifest,” he said.

He mentioned that some people on the aircraft might not have been listed in the manifest.

“I think they should rely more on the manifest of the aircraft if it was actually compiled from the people in the aircraft and their names were contained in a manifest,” he said.

“It’s a sad situation that this simple record-keeping can just be having conflicts.”

The NAF aircraft crashed on 5 October in a swamp in the Igbokoda area of Ondo State.

According to information from the authorities, the ATR-42 military aircraft, with tail number NAF 931, was on a routine maritime patrol and transport mission from Benin City to Lagos when air traffic controllers lost contact with it.

The NAF reported that all 25 people on board, 20 passengers, mostly military personnel, and five crew members, died in the crash.

The wreckage was found in a muddy swamp near a local naval base. Recovery efforts have faced challenges because of the terrain and much of the wreckage being underwater and muddy.

President Bola Tinubu announced three days of national mourning and ordered an investigation into the crash's cause.

This incident has also raised worries about the safety and maintenance of military aircraft in Nigeria.

Ejiofor said that the crash should lead to a thorough look at the Nigerian Air Force’s aircraft fleet, including how well the aircraft have been maintained and their operational state.

He expressed concern about the number of military aircraft crashes and the need for a detailed investigation.

“What is the state of maintenance of all these aircraft? How long have they been serviced? From records we have, there have been over 10 crashes in the last 10 years,” he said.

“We should look into the general operations of the Air Force.”

He also mentioned the 21 May 2021 crash that killed Ibrahim Attahiru, the then chief of army staff, and other military personnel.

Ejiofor said that these repeated incidents call for a full review of military aviation operations instead of just looking at individual crashes.

Regarding the search and rescue operation after the recent crash, Ejiofor said the tough terrain made it very difficult for rescuers.

He stated that the crash site’s closeness to military and police facilities usually would make people expect a quick response, but the swampy land complicated things.

“The terrain posed a very serious challenge, and as we speak, the forces of the aircraft have not been recovered yet. So, there’s no hope that there will be any life,” he said.

He also warned against blaming those involved in the rescue operation due to the tough conditions at the crash site.

Ejiofor cautioned against making assumptions about what caused the loud noise heard before the crash.

He said it is too soon to know if the aircraft exploded before hitting the ground or if the impact caused the noise.

“For me, these are speculations,” he said.

“It’s possible the impact on crashing was the deafening noise, it might not.”

He added that an explosion could also have happened before the crash, which might have caused the spreading of debris and body parts.

“It’s also possible that there was an explosion before the impact, which led to the dissemination and finding of body parts,” he said.

He emphasized that the cause of the crash can only be known after a proper investigation.

“So, until the investigation is complete, we can’t be specific about whether it was an explosion in the air or the impact on the ground,” he said.