Nigeria has begun three days of national mourning for the 25 people killed when a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) ATR-42 crashed into a swamp in Ondo State on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, and the service has released the names of all 25 victims.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the mourning period and directed national flags be flown at half-mast across the country in honor of the dead. The crash has been described as the country’s deadliest Nigerian military aircraft crash in more than three decades.
The cause of the crash has not been established.
What the Air Force Confirmed
The aircraft was flying a routine mission from Benin City, Edo State, to Lagos. It lost contact with air traffic controllers at about 9:13 a.m. Its wreckage was later located near a naval base at Igbokoda, in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, in southern Nigeria.
Five crew members and 20 passengers were on board, and none survived. Of the 25 dead, 19 were military personnel and six were civilians.
Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo initially put the toll at 32. The Air Force clarified on Tuesday, Oct. 6, that 25 people had been aboard.
The ATR-42 is a twin-engine turboprop used by the Nigerian Air Force for transport duties. The service flies missions against armed groups and plays a role in countering terrorism and regional instability — work Tinubu pointed to as he mourned the loss of the crew.
Tinubu Orders an Investigation
Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, the chief of air staff, briefed the president on the disaster.
Tinubu directed the air force to immediately begin a thorough investigation into what brought the aircraft down, saying the inquiry was necessary to help stop similar tragedies from happening again. He extended condolences to the families of the dead personnel, to the air force and to the wider Armed Forces of Nigeria, and he commended the service for moving quickly to activate search and rescue operations after the aircraft went down.
The president said the sacrifice of air force personnel, who he said put their lives on the line each day to secure the country, would not be forgotten.
In a condolence message issued on Oct. 5 by his special adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu said: “This is a painful moment for our Armed Forces and for the entire nation.”
Senate and State Response
The Nigerian Senate expressed condolences to the air force and to the bereaved families.
Sen. Osita Ngwu, chairman of the Senate Committee on Air Force, described the crash as a deeply painful episode for the country and said lawmakers were grieving both the service members who died on duty and the other people aboard. “This is a huge loss to our nation,” Ngwu said.
Ngwu said his committee would meet air force leadership for a full briefing on the circumstances of the crash. He urged Nigerians to rely on official information rather than unverified accounts.
Ondo State Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa directed state emergency and security agencies to provide logistical and manpower support at the crash site. The governor also ordered the area secured so rescue and response teams could work.
Recovery in Swampy Terrain
Recovery crews worked at the site after the aircraft was located, and they pulled a section of the plane from the water.
The swampy terrain around Igbokoda — a riverine community close to the Atlantic coast — has complicated access to the wreckage.
The air force has said additional details will be made public as the investigation progresses. That inquiry is the central unanswered question facing the service and the families waiting to be notified. The official account remains what the Air Force has confirmed: an aircraft on a routine domestic flight that vanished from radio contact mid-morning and was found in a swamp with no survivors.
