A military aircraft with tail number NGR 931 has crashed near the Naval Base in Igbokoda, Ondo State, after disappearing from radar while travelling from Benin to Lagos.
The incident was disclosed on Monday, October 5, 2026, by Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
Preliminary information indicated that 25 passengers and seven crew members were on board the aircraft, bringing the total number of people aboard to 32.
Keyamo said Air Traffic Controllers lost contact with the aircraft after it departed Benin for Lagos at about 9:13 a.m.
According to him, repeated attempts to establish radio contact with the aircraft were unsuccessful before authorities received confirmation that it had crashed near the Naval Base in Igbokoda.
“I regret to inform the general public that Air Traffic Controllers have informed me of the disappearance of a military aircraft with tail number NGR 931, en route Lagos from Benin at 0913 hours earlier today.
“All efforts to raise the aircraft on radio proved abortive. Subsequently, information however confirmed that the military aircraft has crashed close to the Naval Base in Igbokoda, Ondo State.
“Preliminary information suggests that there were 25 passengers and seven crew members on board,” Keyamo said.
The minister added that the wreckage had been located and that search and rescue operations were underway.
He said he had spoken with the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, and assured that the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development would provide the necessary cooperation and assistance to the ongoing rescue operation.
The Igbokoda incident adds to a history of aircraft and helicopter accidents involving military, offshore and private operations in Nigeria and abroad.
In October 2024, an East Wind Aviation Sikorsky SK76 helicopter carrying six passengers and two crew members crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Bonny Finima in Rivers State, killing all eight people on board.
The helicopter was travelling from Port Harcourt to the NUIM ANTAN oil facility when it went down. A subsequent recovery operation retrieved the flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder and more than 80 per cent of the wreckage.
In August 2023, a Nigerian Air Force MI-171 helicopter crashed in Niger State while conducting a casualty evacuation mission. The incident was subsequently investigated by the Nigerian Air Force.
In February 2024, an Airbus EC130 helicopter crashed near Halloran Springs in California, United States, killing six people, including four Nigerians, Access Bank Chief Executive Officer Herbert Wigwe, his wife, Doreen Chizoba Wigwe, their son, Chizi, and former Nigerian Exchange Group Chairman, Abimbola Ogunbanjo.
The helicopter had departed Palm Springs and was heading towards Boulder City, Nevada, when it crashed in the Mojave Desert. The United States National Transportation Safety Board later attributed the accident to the pilot’s decision to continue flying in deteriorating weather, resulting in spatial disorientation and loss of control.
