Squadron Leader Ahamefule Man-Ugwueje has been identified as the Nigerian Air Force pilot who flew the ATR-42-500MP Maritime Patrol aircraft with registration number NAF 931 that crashed in Igbokoda, Ondo State, on Monday.
According to Sahara Reporters, the said Man-Ugwueje who got married two weeks before the crash, was piloting the aircraft during its routine flight from Benin to Lagos. Samuel Victor was identified as the technician on board.
A senior Air Force officer said the aircraft was attached to Squadron Leader MM Haruna, but he was not flying it at the time of the incident.
The aircraft was operated by the 81 Air Maritime Group in Benin City, Edo State, and was used mainly for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance operations, as well as limited transport duties. Some newly commissioned pilot officers were also reportedly among those on board, although their identities had not been released because their families had not yet been officially informed.
The aircraft was acquired under a $73 million deal signed in 2007 with Alenia Aeronautica, now Leonardo, and delivered to Nigeria in December 2010. It was sent to Germany in January 2022 for Periodic Depot Maintenance and returned in late December 2024.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft at about 9:13 a.m. while it was travelling from Benin to Lagos. Communication could not be re-established before reports emerged that it had crashed near the Naval Base in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area.
The Nigerian Air Force, through its spokesperson, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, confirmed the crash and said search-and-rescue operations had been activated with relevant authorities.
