NIGERIA: A retired Nigerian Navy officer, Commodore Promise Dapper, has urged investigators probing the Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash in Igbokada, Ondo State, to keep an open mind and examine all possible causes, including sabotage and a possible air attack.
Dapper made the call during an interview on Channels Television’s Lunchtime Politics on Wednesday, saying it would be premature to rule out any possibility while investigations into the crash remain ongoing, reports Daily Sun.
The retired general stressed that investigators should examine every available piece of evidence before arriving at a conclusion on what brought down the aircraft.
“The crash is being investigated, but you cannot rule everything out; all the cards have to be on the table. You cannot rule out sabotage; air attack, you cannot rule out anything,” Dapper said.
He also drew attention to eyewitness accounts which suggested that fragments of the aircraft were seen falling in different locations before the main wreckage came down.
“You cannot even rule out bombing because, from what some of the eyewitnesses are saying, they are seeing wreckage splinters of the aircraft while it was still in the air, and most of these splinters are found in far-flung villages and nearby places before the aircraft even got on the ground,” he added.
Dapper’s comments came against the backdrop of Monday’s crash involving an NAF 931 aircraft in Igbokada, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The aircraft was reportedly carrying 25 people, comprising 20 passengers and five crew members, when it crashed in a swampy area near the naval base in Igbokada at about 9am.
Following the incident, security agencies and local residents intensified efforts to locate and recover the victims as well as retrieve the aircraft wreckage from the difficult terrain.
The Marine Police said they were working alongside the Nigerian Navy and local residents in the recovery operation.
The Navy subsequently restricted access to the crash site as residents and sympathisers gathered around the area.
The actual cause of the crash remains subject to official investigation, with authorities yet to establish whether it resulted from mechanical failure, adverse conditions, human error or any other factor.
