Nigeria has begun three days of national mourning for the 25 people killed when a military transport aircraft came down in a swamp in Ondo State on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in the country’s deadliest Nigerian military aircraft crash in more than three decades.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) ATR-42 was flying a routine mission from Benin City, Edo State, to Lagos when it lost contact with air traffic controllers at about 9:13 a.m. Its wreckage was later located near a naval base at Igbokoda, in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, in southern Nigeria. Five crew members and 20 passengers were on board, and none survived. Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo initially put the toll at 32, before the Air Force clarified on Tuesday, Oct. 6, that 25 people had been aboard. Of those, 19 were military personnel and six were civilians. A portion of the aircraft has been recovered from the swamp.
Flags Ordered to Half-Mast
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the mourning period and directed that national flags be flown at half-mast across the country in honor of the dead.
“This is a painful moment for our Armed Forces and for the entire nation,” Tinubu said in a condolence message issued on Oct. 5 by his special adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga. The president said the sacrifice of air force personnel, who he said put their lives on the line each day to secure the country, would not be forgotten.
Tinubu extended his condolences to the families of the dead personnel, to the air force and to the wider Armed Forces of Nigeria. He also commended the service for moving quickly to activate search and rescue operations after the aircraft went down.
Air Force Opens Investigation
The chief of air staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, briefed the president on the disaster. Tinubu directed the air force to immediately begin a thorough investigation into what brought the aircraft down, saying the inquiry was necessary to help stop similar tragedies from happening again.
The cause of the crash has not been established. The air force has said additional details will be made public as the investigation progresses, and has since released the names of all 25 victims.
The ATR-42 is a twin-engine turboprop used by the Nigerian Air Force for transport duties. The service flies missions against armed groups and plays a role in countering terrorism and regional instability, work Tinubu pointed to as he mourned the loss of the crew.
Senate and Ondo State Respond
The Nigerian Senate expressed its condolences to the air force and to the bereaved families. Sen. Osita Ngwu, chairman of the Senate Committee on Air Force, described the crash as a deeply painful episode for the country and said lawmakers were grieving both the service members who died on duty and the other people who were aboard the aircraft.
“This is a huge loss to our nation,” Ngwu said. He said his committee would meet air force leadership to obtain a full briefing on the circumstances of the crash, and he urged Nigerians to rely on official information rather than unverified accounts.
In Ondo State, Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa directed state emergency and security agencies to provide logistical and manpower support at the crash site. He also ordered the area secured so rescue and response teams could work.
The swampy terrain around Igbokoda, a riverine community close to the Atlantic coast, has complicated access to the wreckage. Recovery crews worked at the site after the aircraft was located, with a section of the plane pulled from the water.
As the mourning period runs, the Air Force’s inquiry into the crash is the central unanswered question facing the service and the families waiting to be notified. Until that investigation delivers findings, the official account remains what the Air Force has confirmed: an aircraft on a routine domestic flight that vanished from radio contact mid-morning and was found in a swamp with no survivors.