By Joyce Ekeh
No survivor has been recovered from the military aircraft that crashed in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa said on Monday night.
The governor said rescue teams had so far found only parts of the aircraft, including wing wreckage, identity cards and military uniforms, while the main body remained buried deep in the swamp.
Aiyedatiwa disclosed this during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.
According to him, the aircraft was carrying 32 people, 25 passengers and seven crew members, and was on a surveillance mission from Benin to Lagos when it lost radio communication at about 9:15 a.m.
He said he was informed of the incident around 10:30 a.m. by the chairman of Ilaje Local Government, who reported that residents had heard a sound resembling an air tremor before the aircraft plunged into a swamp near the Naval Forward Operating Base in Igbokoda.
“They saw the wreckage from the wings, some ID cards and uniforms indicating it was a military aircraft. The main body went deep into the swamp area. They haven’t been able to search the aircraft itself yet,” the governor said.
Aiyedatiwa said naval personnel, local emergency officials, Amotekun operatives and residents immediately mobilised boats to the creek in search of survivors.
However, he said no living person had been found as of Monday night.
The governor said the crash site had been cordoned off, while hospitals in Igbokoda and Okitipupa had been placed on standby.
He added that ambulances recently procured for the state’s 18 local government areas were also available for emergency response.
Air Force, NSIB investigating
Aiyedatiwa said the Nigerian Air Force and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau were investigating the crash.
He said recovery of the aircraft’s black box would be crucial to determining what caused the incident.
Attention is also expected to focus on the recovery operation as authorities work to reach the main body of the aircraft in the difficult swamp terrain.
Security operation
The governor also spoke about the recent killing of Abdussamad Ohida, whom he described as a senior ISWAP coordinator operating in the forests of Ondo State.
According to Aiyedatiwa, the operation was carried out about five days ago following months of what he described as top-secret surveillance.
He said the operation involved the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigerian Army, British intelligence officers and the Ondo State Security Network Agency, known as Amotekun.
The governor said no security personnel was killed during the operation.
He explained that intelligence used in the operation was developed following the arrest of a former superior of the ISWAP coordinator by the DSS in 2023, as well as surveillance of another leader who was later eliminated by the security agency.
Aiyedatiwa said the group was armed with sophisticated weapons, including general-purpose machine guns (GPMG), beyond AK-47 rifles.
“When we launched the first attack, they retaliated. So we had to move back, heavily arm, do serious intelligence and mapping before we re-launched,” he said.
He said British personnel provided intelligence and precision-targeting equipment that was not available to Amotekun, while the local security outfit contributed knowledge of the terrain.
According to the governor, many Amotekun operatives are recruited from among local hunters familiar with the forests.
Forests used as criminal corridor
Aiyedatiwa said Ondo’s extensive forests, which share boundaries with Kogi, Edo, Ekiti and Oyo states, had increasingly become a corridor for criminals fleeing military operations in neighbouring areas.
He said the security situation had evolved from the farmer-herder clashes witnessed years ago into what he described as terrorism.
The governor also linked the group to the December 31, 2025 attack on Ipele Police Station and the 2022 attack in Owo.
Asked whether the group was planning to disrupt the 2027 elections, Aiyedatiwa said its broader objective was to cause violence and instability.
“Their agenda in totality is to kill, destroy and disrupt in any form,” he said.
