TODAY IN HISTORY: ON THIS DAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1992-THE DAY A NIGERIAN AIR FORCE C-130 CRASH K1LL€D 159 PEOPLE

TODAY IN HISTORY: ON THIS DAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1992-THE DAY A NIGERIAN AIR FORCE C-130 CRASH K1LL€D 159 PEOPLE

OnThisDay September 26, 1992, Nigeria suffered one of the d@rkest tr@gedies in the history of its Armed Forces.

A Nigerian Air Force Lockheed C-130H Hercules, registration NAF911, took off from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on a flight to Kaduna.

Barely three minutes after takeoff, tr@gedy struck.

The heavily loaded aircraft suffered a series of engine failures. Two of its four engines lost power, and shortly afterwards, a third engine f@iled.

The pilots desperately tried to keep the aircraft in the air and find a suitable place to make an emergency landing.

But there was not enough time.

The C-130 crashed into the Ejigbo canal/swamp area of Lagos.

All 159 people aboard were k 1ll€d. There were no surv1vors. The confirmed victims included 151 Nigerians, as well as military personnel from Ghana, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Uganda.

Among the Nigerian military officers who died were senior Army officers including:

Lt.-Col. S. A. Onipede, Lt.-Col. A. I. Ibiyeye, Lt.-Col. J. A. Agber, Lt.-Col. B. A. Ibanga, Lt.-Col. J. O. Okafor, Lt.-Col. G. O. Okoli and Lt.-Col. S. K. Aladesuyi.

Also among the victims were numerous Majors, including C. D. Nwabuowo, E. Ezenwa, M. H. Leramoh, S. O. Yawus, S. S. Agada, E. O. Amechi-Okoro, O. O. Mba, E. J. Onwe, S. Bature, T. Zubair, P. U. Bassey, O. G. Akise and J. Shija, among many others.

The aircraft’s own crew also perished.

The flight crew included Wing Commander J. P. Alabosun, Wing Commander A. S. Mamadi, Squadron Leader J. A. Adeiza/Asetza, Flight Lieutenant S. O. Adamu, and other Nigerian Air Force personnel.

Many of the passengers were milit@ry officers travelling after activities in Lagos, including personnel associated with the Command and Staff College, Jaji. The crash therefore wiped out a significant number of trained Nigerian military personnel in a matter of minutes.

The dis@ster became one of the most devastating events in Nigeria’s milit@ry aviation history.

The cr@sh also left many families searching for answers. Years later, the Oputa Panel received a petition concerning the September 26, 1992 C-130 crash from a woman whose husband had been among those aboard. The petition sought answers about what happened and the cause of the cr@sh.

Years later, the tr@gedy continued to generate questions. In his 2025 autobiography, former military president Ibrahim Babangida addressed allegations that the cr@sh had been deliberately caused to elimin@te milit#ry officers, rejecting that claim and describing the @ccident as a tragedy for the armed forces.

But whatever the later controversies surrounding the dis@ster, one fact remains p@infully clear:

On September 26, 1992, 159 people boarded a Nigerian Air Force aircraft in Lagos. None would return home.

They left behind p@rents, husb@nds, wives, ch1ldren, friends and colleagues.

Thirty-four years later, their names remain part of Nigeria’s history.

May the souls of all those who d1ed in the cr@sh rest in peace.

📷 Photo: Nigerian Air Force C-130 Hercules, similar to the aircraft involved in the 1992 crash.