The Nigerian Air Force has confirmed that all 25 people aboard one of its ATR-42 aircraft died after the plane crashed near Igbokoda in Ondo State.
The service said aircraft NAF 931 was carrying 20 passengers and five crew members when it crashed on Monday, 5 October. It had been flying from Benin City to Lagos on what officials described as a routine mission.
Air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft at approximately 9:13 a.m. Nigerian time. Its wreckage was subsequently located in a swampy area close to the Nigerian Navy base in Igbokoda, a riverside community in Ilaje Local Government Area.
“No survivors have been found,” the Air Force said in its updated account. Search-and-recovery personnel from the Air Force, other military services and emergency agencies were deployed to the site.
The revised figure corrects information initially released by Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo and repeated in an early presidential statement. Those accounts said 32 people—25 passengers and seven crew members—were aboard.
The Air Force later said its reviewed manifest recorded 25 occupants: five crew members and 20 passengers. Officials have not publicly explained in detail how the initial figure was produced, but the latest Air Force total is the authoritative figure and should replace 32 in headlines, captions, social posts and article text.
The five crew members were identified as Squadron Leader M.I. Aburime, the flight captain; Squadron Leader A.P. Man-Ugwueje; Flight Lieutenant I.S. Bako; Warrant Officer A. Abubakar; and Corporal H.C. Uguru.
The 20 passengers included military personnel and civilians. The Air Force released their names after notifying families and asked the public to avoid speculation and respect the privacy of those affected.
President Bola Tinubu declared three days of national mourning and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast. He also directed the Nigerian Air Force to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident.
Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke described the crash as a deeply painful moment for the service and the country. A condolence register was opened at Air Force headquarters in Abuja.
The Air Force had not announced a cause at the time of reporting. The investigation will be expected to examine the aircraft’s maintenance history, flight data, communications with air traffic control, weather conditions and evidence recovered from the crash site.
Witness Akinbulejo Pius told the Associated Press that residents heard a sound resembling a thunder strike before the aircraft cleared trees and crashed near the river. Videos posted online appeared to show rescue activity in the area, but Universaladage has not independently authenticated every recording circulating on social media.
The ATR-42 is a twin-engine turboprop platform. Nigeria’s military versions are configured for maritime patrol, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and the transportation of personnel and supplies.
NAF 931 was one of two ATR-42-500MP aircraft acquired for the Nigerian Air Force’s 81 Air Maritime Group. The loss may therefore affect surveillance capacity in addition to its human cost, although the Air Force has not publicly detailed its operational consequences.
The accident is among Nigeria’s deadliest aviation disasters in recent years. Its location in swampy terrain complicated access for rescue and recovery teams, while uncertainty during the first hours led to conflicting reports about the aircraft, its occupants and whether anyone survived.
The confirmed position is now that 25 people were aboard and all died. Claims retaining the preliminary total of 32 should be visibly corrected.
