Military Aircraft Crash: Tinubu declares three-day mourning, says victims to be named

President Bola Tinubu has declared a three-day mourning period following a military aircraft crash in the Igbokoda area of Ondo State. The aircraft, an ATR-42 belonging to the Nigerian Air Force, was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos with 25 passengers and seven crew members on board when it crashed on Monday morning, according to Punch.

Tinubu extended his condolences to the families of those involved, as well as the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, and all officers, airmen, and airwomen of the NAF. He directed the NAF to immediately investigate the cause of the accident and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast throughout the country as a mark of respect to the officers, as reported by Premium Times.

The President expressed sadness over the crash and described it as a "painful moment for our Armed Forces and for the entire nation." He commended the Nigerian Air Force for activating an immediate search and rescue operation following the accident and prayed for the repose of the souls of the victims. The Daily Post Nigeria reported that a total of 32 people were killed in the crash.

Brief written by urgent.news from Premium Times, Punch, Daily Post Nigeria, Punch Nigeria — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.