About 25 years after over 160 Nigerian military officers and air force crew died in the Hercules C-130 plane crash at Ejigbo Lagos in 1992, the NAF named houses constructed for officers in honour of the pilots and engineer of the ill-fated aircraft.
The honour for the officers came just as the Chief of Air Staff; Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar regretted the accidental bombing of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Rann, Borno State, describing it as unfortunate.
He noted however that it occurred while the NAF personnel were on a mission to protect the very IDPs.
On the buildings, Sadique said the two blocks of six by three bedrooms for married officers at the Logistics Command, Lagos were named after Wing Commanders Pere Alabosun, Ali Mamadi and Squadron Leader JA Adeiza who were pilots and engineers of the C-130.
Recalling that the officers embarked on a mission to save lives that morning but paid the ultimate price, the CAS said, “These structures were constructed to address the inadequacy of houses in the base and in various units across the country.
“We are also embarking on massive renovation/upgrading of existing quarters that were hitherto dilapidated to improve their conditions.
“The projects commissioned are named after our colleagues who fell in the line of duty. They died during the C-130 air crash at Ejigbo on September 26, 1992. We have ensured that the welfare of the families of fallen personnel are catered for.
“We provide accommodation for their families and those who died in service, their families get bulk pension of five years.
“The NAF has contributed greatly to the restoration of peace, security, humanitarian efforts and well-being of Nigerians. We have performed credibly well in all the ongoing operations we are engaged in.
“These were achieved through effective projection of air power in various operations to soften the ground for the surface forces.”
“These were achieved through effective projection of air power in various operations to soften the ground for the surface forces.”
“Although remarkable successes were achieved, the incident of January 17 in the northeast is highly regrettable and unfortunate.
On the Rann accidental bombing, Abubakar said: “The days between the incident and now have been the most painful for us. However, we take solace in the fact that it was in a bid to secure this same victims that this sad incident occurred.
“We are reviewing our processes to unravel how this sad incident could have occurred and to prevent future occurrences.
“I urge you not to be discouraged by thus unfortunate incident but we will continue to strive harder to secure our communities and add value to our societies.”
The Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Logistics Command, Air Vice Marshal Ibrahim Yahaya described the buildings as another milestone project for the NAF personnel in Lagos.
“Improving the personnel’s living condition has not only raised their morale but has also modeled them into a highly professional and disciplined troop for effective, efficient and timely employment in response to Nigeria’s national security imperatives.”
He said: “This would go a long way in ameliorating the shortage of officers’ residential quarters in Lagos area.
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