Author: Gist Correspondent

A retired Nigerian Navy Commodore, Promise Dapper, has urged investigators probing the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft crash in Ondo State to consider all possible causes, including sabotage or an external attack.

Dapper spoke on Channels Television’s LunchTime Politics on Wednesday, stressing that it would be premature to rule out any possibility while investigations into the crash were still ongoing.

He said investigators should keep an open mind until the circumstances surrounding the crash were fully established.

According to him, possibilities such as sabotage, an air attack or even bombing should remain part of the investigation until evidence establishes what caused the accident.

Dapper also referred to accounts from eyewitnesses who reportedly saw pieces of the aircraft falling at different locations before the main wreckage came down.

He said such reports should be properly examined by investigators as they work to establish the sequence of events that preceded the crash.

The comments followed Monday’s crash involving a NAF 931 aircraft carrying 25 people, comprising 20 passengers and five crew members.

The aircraft reportedly crashed at about 9 a.m. in a swampy area near the naval base in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.

Following the incident, security agencies and local residents intensified efforts to locate the victims and recover the aircraft wreckage from the difficult terrain.

The Marine Police said they were working with the Nigerian Navy and local residents in the recovery operation.

The Navy has also restricted access to the crash site as residents and sympathisers gathered around the area.

Investigations are expected to determine the actual cause of the crash, while authorities have yet to establish that sabotage or an attack was involved.