16 Perish In Lagos Air Crash; As Agagu’s Remains Leave For Akure …Mark, NGF, Others Mourn Victims

The Associated Airlines Plane conveying the corpse of late former governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Agagu,  which crashed during take-off yesterday morning at about 9.20 am at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, en-route Akure, claimed 16 lives out of the total of 20 persons on board.
The management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) yesterday officially confirmed that 20 passengers and crew members were on board the Associated Airlines plane.
However, the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has assured that the two black boxes of the Associated Airlines plane, which crashed in Lagos yesterday, have been recovered.
The Director of Engineering, AIB, Mr. Emmanuel Dialla, said the two black boxes had been retrieved from the accident scene.
Dialla said, “AIB has succeeded in picking the two black boxes, which will give us an insight into what really happened.”
Meanwhile, the management of Associated Airlines has released the names of passengers and crew members of its flight 5N-BJY which crashed yesterday morning in Lagos shortly after take-off from the domestic terminal at Lagos’ Murtala Mohammed International Airport.
This is even as the management of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has released the names of four survivors.
While Feyi, the only son of late former Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, is among the survivors, Deji, the son of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, could not make it. Deji was a Commissioner in the Ondo State Government.
Contrary to earlier reports, Gbenga, son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, was not on board the flight; nor was Dr. Agagu’s widow.
The chartered plane was heading for Akure, the Ondo State capital, with the remains of Dr. Agagu, a former governor of Ondo State, who died on September 13, and were scheduled to be buried this weekend.
Meanwhile, Aviation Minister Stella Oduah yesterday said the ministry has commenced investigations into the plane crash at the domestic wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.
Oduah, who made this known in Abuja at a news conference, said the ‘Black Box’ of the aircraft had been found.
Oduah said the Black Box had been handed over to the Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau to determine the cause of the accident.
“The Federal Ministry of Aviation deeply commiserates with the families of the victims. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult time,’’ Oduah said.
She urged members of the public to be patient while the investigation progresses, and assured them that it would be thorough.
The minister assured Nigerians that the country’s airspace “remains safe and secure’’.
Meanwhile, Rescue Coordination and Trauma Centres had been set up at the Annex of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to provide necessary information and support.
Reacting to the incident, the Senate President, Senator David Mark, said the death of some passengers of the Associated Airlines aircraft, which crashed in Lagos yeserday, is more than a double tragedy.
A statement issued by the Special Adviser (Media) to the Senate President, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, said that Mark described the deaths as “sad, disheartening and cruel.
“This is one tragedy which tempts one to question the essence of human existence. But as ordinary mortals, we lack the locus standi to question our creator.
Mark said that the Senate shared in the pain, stressing that it was, indeed, grieved over the unfortunate incident.
He prayed God to give the nation, especially the immediate families of the deceased, the fortitude to bear the painful loss.
He also prayed that the souls of the departed would rest in peace.
Similarly, the Deputy Senate President, Senator  Ike Ekweremadu, described the crash as a double tragedy and called on all well-meaning Nigerians to pray for the nation.
“It is, indeed, a double tragedy; not only for the late Chief Olusegun Agagu’s family, the government and good people of Ondo State, but for the nation as a whole.
“I feel most saddened over this unfortunate incident; I send my heartfelt condolences to all the affected families and pray for the peaceful repose of the souls of all those who lost their lives,” he said.
Ekweremadu called on all Nigerians to pray for the nation, adding that Nigeria needed the divine intervention of God, in addition to the government’s efforts to mitigate such occurrences.
Speaker Aminu Tambuwal of the House of Representatives yesterday called for a thorough investigation into the remote and immediate causes of the Associated Airline plane crash in Lagos.
Tambuwal said in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, in Abuja, that the crash was “tragic and sorrowful”.
The speaker particularly expressed sympathy to the Agagu family, saying they needed all the support and encouragement of all Nigerians “in this dark period”.
In the same token, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under the leadership of Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje has expressed shock over yesterday’s plane crash in Lagos, describing it as an unspeakable tragedy.
The party, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, condoled with the bereaved families as well as the Ondo State and federal governments.
“As confirmed by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Associated Airlines chartered flight heading for Akure, the Ondo State capital, took off at roughly 9:30 am (0830 GMT) from the domestic terminal at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, but the engine failed on takeoff and it crash-landed and burst into flames,” Eze said in the statement.
“We urge Nigerians to remember the victims and their families in their prayers and to intensify prayers for our dear nation in these difficult times,” the party said.
However, the Government of Ondo State yesterday confirmed that one of its commissioners was among the passengers of the Associated Ailrines flight heading for the state capital, Akure, but which crashed shortly after take-off from the domestic terminal at Lagos’ Murtala Mohammed International Airport.
A statement issued by Chief Press Secretary to Governor Olusegun Mimiko, Eni Akinsola, also confirmed that “family members, associates and other top government officials were also involved in the crash.”
In like manner, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State also commiserated with the government and people of Ondo State over the death of some government officials in a plane crash in Lagos.
The governor’s condolence is contained in a statement issued in Ilorin by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Malam Abdulwahab Oba.
Ahmed, described the incident as very shocking, saying that the state had lost some of its vibrant officials at the time their services were needed most.
Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State described  yesterday’s plane crash as a  national tragedy.
In a statement issued in Abeokuta by his  Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mrs Funmi Wakama,  said the incident was regrettable.
The governor  condoled with Nigerians and the families of the deceased.
“I join the entire nation, especially the government and people of Ondo State, in lamenting this monumental disaster,’’ Amosun said.

Acting Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Peter Agumagu (left) exchanging pleasantries with the state Education Commissioner, Dame Alice Lawrence -Nemi at the Nigeria’s 53rd Independence Anniversary celebration in Port Harcourt, last Tuesday