NAF Pilot Aham Man Ugweje Dies in Aircraft Crash

Squadron Leader Aham Man Ugweje has been identified as the pilot of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft that crashed in Igbokoda, Ondo State, on Monday. The aircraft, an ATR-42-500MP Maritime Patrol with registration number NAF 931, was on a routine mission from Benin City, Edo State, to Lagos when it crashed.

Squadron Leader Ugweje, equivalent in rank to a Major in the Nigerian Army, was flying the aircraft operated by the 81 Air Maritime Group. Military sources confirmed that he had recently married two weeks before the crash.

The technician on board was identified as Samuel Victor. The aircraft was attached to Squadron Leader MM Haruna, who was not the pilot.

The identities of other officers aboard, including newly commissioned pilot officers, are being withheld pending notification of their families. The ATR-42 was acquired under a $73 million agreement in 2007 and underwent maintenance in Germany before returning to Nigeria in December 2024.