Azazi, Yakowa, few others die in military helicopter crash
It was a harvest of tragedy on Saturday
as Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State, the immediate national
security adviser, Gen. Owoye Azazi, and four others were killed in a
military helicopter crash at Okoroba Village in Ogbia Local Government
Area of Bayelsa State.
Others involved in the accident were
Yakowa’s Special Adviser, Dauda Tsoho; Azazi’s bodyguard, Warrant
Officer Mohammed Kamal and two Naval pilots, Commander Murtala Mohammed
Daba and Lt. Adeyemi Sowole.
The victims were returning to Port
Harcourt after they attended the funeral ceremony of late Mr.
Tamunoobebara Douglas, the father of the Presidential Adviser on
Research, Documentation and Strategy, Mr. Oronto Douglas, when the
incident happened.
They were said to have been badly burnt and only identified by the shreds of their clothes.
Azazi and Yakowa’s mobile phones rang
out continually without any response when several calls were put across
to them by some top government officials.
Our correspondent gathered that the
naval helicopter was heading for Port Harcourt, Rivers State, but
developed a fault and crashed in the village, which also shares a
boundary with Nembe Local Government Area.
The Director of Information of the
Nigerian Navy, Commodore Kabir Aliyu, confirmed that a Nigerian Navy
helicopter was involved in the crash which occurred around 3:30pm.
Aliyu who was silent on the identities
of those involved in the crash said a rescue operation comprising
personnel of the Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield, the Navy, the
Nigerian Air Force and the National Emergency Management Agency, were at
work in Bayelsa.
Our correspondent further gathered that
the former Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission, Mr.
Timi Alaibe, narrowly escaped the crash.
A police source who pleaded anonymity
said he was scheduled to board the helicopter but that there was a last
minute change in the schedule.
The source said, “Two helicopters took
off at the same time. After sometime, we saw the one behind us wobbling
and nosediving into the swamp.
“The helicopter took off and was already
stabilised on air. It had gained balance and started flying but
unfortunately it came crashing.
“We are not suspecting any sabotage
because the burial ground was well policed. There were gunboats
surrounding the place and many security operatives at the burial
ground.”
The former Chairman of the Okoroba Community Development Committee, Mr. Hitler Adunion, told us that he was the first person to locate the site of the incident.
Adunion said “We sighted the chopper
wobbling and crash-landing. By the time we got to the scene, the
helicopter was in flames. We tried to put out the flame but it was
difficult. We saw the roasted bodies of those inside it.”
Around 7pm on Saturday, NEMA said it had activated its search and rescue team.
“NEMA has activated its search and
rescue team in collaboration with other response agencies at the crash
site,” Yushau Shuaib of NEMA headquarters was quoted as saying.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Bayelsa State, Mr. Fidelis Odunna, confirmed the incident.
The Secretary to the Kaduna State government, Mr. Lawal Abdullahi on Saturday night also confirmed Yakowa’s death.
He said, “Yakowa on Thursday presented a
budget to the state House of Assembly. His last official engagement was
his visit to the Barau Dikko Specialists Hospital.”
The air crash came barely two months
after the Governor of Taraba State, Mr. Danbaba Suntai, was critically
injured in a similar crash in Adamawa State with his two aides.
The governor is currently receiving medical attention in Germany.
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