The partner of Flight Lieutenant I.S. Bako, one of the 25 people killed in Tuesday’s Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft crash in Igbokoda, Ondo State, has broken her silence in an emotional tribute to the fallen officer.
Joanna Yakubu, who took to TikTok to mourn Bako, recalled their final conversation before he embarked on the journey that ended in tragedy.
According to her, the co-pilot had told her he was travelling to Abuja but gave no indication that it would be their last conversation.
Struggling to come to terms with the devastating loss, Yakubu lamented that Bako had left her behind without warning that he would never return.
“It actually Abuja you told me you are going to and you didn’t mention you will not come back. You left me,” she wrote.
Her heartbreaking message has added a deeply personal dimension to the tragedy, which claimed the lives of all 25 people aboard the ill-fated aircraft.
The aircraft, with registration number NAF 931, was reportedly on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when it crashed into the swamps of Igbokoda, in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The victims comprised five crew members and 20 passengers. No survivor was found.
The NAF confirmed that search-and-rescue operations were immediately activated after the crash, with personnel working alongside relevant authorities at the scene.
The Director of Public Relations and Information of the Air Force, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, confirmed the grim outcome, saying, “No survivors have been found.”
The tragedy has thrown the military community and the families of the victims into mourning, with the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, expressing condolences to the bereaved families, colleagues and loved ones.
Aneke described the crash as “a deeply painful moment for the Nigerian Air Force and the nation.”
He also assured the victims’ families that the Air Force would provide them with the full support of the Service.
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