Relatives of the 25 people who died in the NAF plane crash in Ondo State say they still lack basic information more than two weeks later, while military teams keep searching a swamp for wreckage and human remains.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has not yet explained what brought down its ATR-42 aircraft, NAF 931, on October 5. An agency report published by The Guardian Nigeria says families have received little word on the probe, the identification of remains or the recovery work.
NBG Africa had earlier reported the crash, as well as a follow-up when the NAF published the names of everyone on board and the Air Force ordered for a probe. 
What we know about the NAF plane crash
NAF 931 was flying a routine mission from Benin City to Lagos when air traffic controllers lost contact with it around 9:13 a.m. on October 5. It crashed into a swamp opposite the naval base in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area. Nobody survived.
The Air Force lists five crew members and 20 passengers, and the agency report says 19 of the 25 were military personnel and six were civilians.
Early official figures differed. Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo initially cited 32 people on board, but the NAF’s published list names 25, and officials have not explained the gap. The Air Force has also not said whether carrying civilians on military flights is standard practice.
NBG Africa reported the crash on October 5, quoting Ilaje Local Government chairman Maurice Oripelaye, who confirmed that military gear lay at the scene. The next day, NBG Africa published the full list of five crew members and 20 passengers and reported that Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke had ordered a comprehensive investigation. President Bola Tinubu also ordered a probe and declared three days of national mourning.
READ MORE: NAF Plane Crash: Air Force Releases Names of 25 People on Board NAF 931, Orders Probe
Recovery drags on in the swamp
The NAF said on Monday that crews were on the 14th day of draining water from the site and shoring up the embankment with sandbags, and it described the work as complex. Navy divers and specialists from the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) have joined the underwater search, and teams have recovered more aircraft parts.
Daily Trust reports that the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder remain missing. Premium Times also reports that the condition of recovered remains complicates identification.
Nigeria’s record on military crash probes
A review of publicly reported incidents found that at least nine NAF aircraft accidents killed more than 30 people in the five years before this crash, the agency report says. Other tallies differ. The Guardian counts 16 military aircraft crashes since 2016, while The Sun counts at least 63 deaths in eight fatal incidents over a decade.
Each count uses its own criteria.
Public answers have come slowly. After the May 2021 Kaduna crash that killed Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 others, the Accident Investigation Bureau and the NAF produced an interim report in September 2021 with 27 findings and eight immediate safety recommendations. Authorities did not publish those findings, and commentators still ask where the final report is.
Civil investigators also have limited reach. Keyamo says military aircraft fall outside his ministry’s regulation, and the NSIB said it could join only if the Air Force invited it. The NAF has since set up an investigation board with representatives from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the NSIB.
Separately, the opposition ADC alleges that releases for NAF aircraft maintenance totalled ₦4.5 billion against ₦34.71 billion budgeted. That claim does not establish a cause.
What to watch next
Observers are watching four things: whether crews recover the recorders, how soon families receive confirmed identifications, whether officials reconcile the 32-versus-25 discrepancy, and whether the NAF publishes its findings this time. The Air Force has promised timely, verified updates.
NBG Africa will update this report on the NAF plane crash as more details emerge.
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