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Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Dana: Rescuers used pure water to douse plane’s fire

10:05 AM 1 Comment

LAGOS – Residents of Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos State, where the ill-fated DANA aircraft crashed, yesterday, blamed the deaths of passengers in the crash on poor and delayed rescue operation, noting that the people resorted to using sachets of pure water to put out the fire before the plane exploded.

Speaking with Vanguard, some of the residents who were accused of looting the dead, said the aircraft exploded 20 minutes after it crashed, commending the pilot of the aircraft for being brave with the handling of the aircraft that was wobbling before it crashed.

A resident said: “Had it been that fire fighters were on ground earlier and prepared, all the passengers die would not have died”, adding that the fire fighters came with a leaking pipe, which made it difficult for them to confront the situation.

Another resident, who arrived the scene minutes after the crash and gave his name as Yinka, said “I was with my wife when the aircraft crashlanded on a newly constructed storey building. When the plane was moving around in a random direction initially, we were confused, but when it was getting unusually close to the rooftop of the houses around, we stood up and traced it to where it eventually landed.

“When we got to the scene, we saw the plane on the building but it had not exploded then. The only fire from the aircraft was from the cockpit, which was not much. Only about 10 of us first got to the scene. That little fire was quenchable if there was immediate emergency response from fire fighters. We were even using sachets of pure water to put out the fire before we heard a loud explosion after 20 minutes.”

BY BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE
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UNILAG to MAULAG: Students sue President over name-change

10:04 AM , No Comments

LAGOS — Some students of University of Lagos, UNILAG, now, Moshood Abiola University, have asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to declare that the power to change or amend the name of University of Lagos being a body corporate, having perpetual succession with common seal as provided under the University of Lagos Act 1967(as amended) belongs to the national legislatures.

The students, who had sued President Goodluck Jonathan, also asked the court to declare that UNILAG, being a creation of an act of the National Assembly, the University of Lagos Act, 1967 (as amended), cannot be governed except in accordance with the provisions of the University of Lagos Act, 1967.

The students are also praying the court to declare that the announcement contained in the President’s May 29, 2012, broadcast, changing the name of University of Lagos to Moshood Abiola University, is unconstitutional, ultra vires, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

The students want the court to resolve whether the President, in his capacity as the Visitor to University of Lagos has the power under the University of Lagos Act, 1967, to unilaterally change the name of the institution to Moshood Abiola University.

They also want the court to determine whether the President, in the exercise of the executive powers of the federation vested in him in Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution, can unilaterally change the name of University of Lagos without recourse to the National Assembly.

By BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE
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Aircraft was still operational – Dana Air

10:03 AM No Comments

LAGOS — Dana Airline, yesterday, explained that their aircraft, the McDonnell Douglas (MD83) aircraft with registration number 5N-RAM, despite being 22 years old was still serviceable and operational.

Speaking in Lagos, Director of Flight Operations, Captain Oscar Wilson; Director of Ground Operations, Amos Olajide and Communication Manager, Tony Usidamen explained the airline’s position, stating that the aircraft was in good condition.
Wreckage of Dana Airline which crashed in Iju Isaga on Sunday. Photo:Joe Akintola, Diran Oshe and Lamidi Bamidele,
But reports from aviation officials and stakeholders indicate that the aircraft in question had technical problems recently in flights to Uyo, Port-Harcourt, Calabar and Abuja. This plane was, according to reports, supposed to be brought to Lagos empty but the DANA officials insisted on carrying passengers.

But Captain Wilson, Director of Flight Operations of DANA who explained the airline’s schedule the day it crashed said the aircraft had flown to Ibadan on Saturday without hitches contrary to rumours that it was undergoing repairs. He said that Sunday was a different story entirely as the aircraft had started operations as early as 7.47 a.m

He said: “On Sunday, 5N-RAM flew at 7.47am left Lagos to Abuja on flight 999 and Abuja back to Lagos on Flight 998. The aircraft went back to Abuja flight 993 and was coming back before the fatal flight 992.No aircraft would go if not in perfect condition. We don’t take risks with people’s lives. I did the test flight myself, there was nothing wrong with the aircraft, it was okay.”

It is now left for government to establish the veracity of these claims and counter claims as the contentious aircraft on Sunday, June 3, 2012 at 3:43pm local time, on flight 0992 from Abuja to Lagos declared an emergency with the Lagos control tower at 11 nautical miles to Muritala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

A minute later the aircraft disappeared from the Air Traffic Control radar. The flight was found to have crashed into residential buildings at Iju area of Agege with 146 passengers on board, 1 Dana Air flight Engineer, 2 Pilots and 4 Cabin crew. There was no survivor.

BY LAWANI MIKAIRU & DANIEL ETEGHE
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Bauchi Church bombing: We did it, says Boko Haram

10:00 AM No Comments


MAIDUGURI—Islamist sect, Boko Haram, has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s suicide attack in Bauchi State where a Church was bombed, killing about 21 worshipers with 45 others sustaining various degrees of injuries, even as it also re-emphasised its earlier warning to the media to desist from under-reporting its activities or face devastating attacks.
These were contained in a statement by its spokesman, Abu Qaqa in Hausa language and made available to newsmen in Maiduguri.
Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Ladan briefing newsmen on the suicide bomb attack on Harvest Field church in Yelwan, Bauchi on Sunday (3/6/12) Beside is a detonated bomb discovered at the blast scene. NAN Photo
Qaga further expressed surprise with the way security agencies were misleading President Goodluck Jonathan by giving him false information on their confrontation with them, pointing out that the security agencies usually concealed the truth about the damages inflicted on them by Boko Haram.
He said: “Take for example, the attack they launched on our brethren in Ja’in area in Kano State weeks back. The fact is that only three men were inside the house together with their wives and then their weapons.
“Unfortunately, the soldiers stormed the area with over 40 vehicles, including armoured tanks and surrounded the house in the dead of the night.
“There was endless gun duel between our men and the soldiers but none of our men was killed or arrested. They only succeeded in arresting women because our warriors had escaped after killing many security operatives. But the media, which we believed connived with the security agencies and the government, went ahead to publish the opposite which ended up misleading the public.”
‘We have eyewitnesses’
He noted that residents of the area can attest to the fact that what JTF and the media are saying in that regard was nothing but gimmicks, even as he stated that the people in the area are also aware of the fact that the soldiers killed a resident of the area, and not a single member of the sect.
The sect’s spokesman said: “However, the military later turned around  and said they succeeded in killing one of our members. The fact is if troops would surround our people at night but could not succeed in subduing them even while asleep, how possible is it that they killed four members of our Supreme Council (Shura) in their latest attack as they claimed?
“Is it really true that our leaders were holding meeting? Is it possible for just four members of the high command to sit and take decision? Can members of the high command watch over a foreign hostage whose corpse was found in the area?
‘JTF killed civilians’
“One thing that is obvious is that the soldiers had only succeeded in killing over 10 innocent people in the neighborhood. We challenge journalists to go to the area and verify our claims whether our warriors have killed soldiers during the confrontation or not. Why are they (soldiers) hiding away their victims from the press?
“The media should also verify whether the military had extra-judicially killed civilians or not. We are carefully watching what everybody is saying about us. Let everybody, including individuals and groups continue to say whatever they want to say. The obvious fact is that as soon as we complete our preparations and start launching attacks, nobody should persuade us to stop.
Warning for media houses
“This is a special warning to media houses and journalists who are now fond of exaggerating and giving prominence to stories given to them by our enemies even when such press releases and stories given to them are not true.
“It is so unfortunate that the media carries such report word by word without removing or altering anything. But when we issue statements and press releases, the media always look the other way, pretending as if they didn’t get the message.
“More worrisome, perhaps, is that even when the media carries the report, they distort what we said just because they want to massage the ego of our enemies.

Demands fair representation
“Henceforth, nobody should talk to us when we attack any media organisation. The least we expect is that if any media organisation is not willing to give us true and fair representation, it is better not to report at all no matter what is said or who said it on the side of the government.
Any media that refuses to adhere to this wise counsel should have itself to blame.
“Finally, as it pleases Allah, we have successfully launched attack at a Church in Yelwa area of Bauchi metropolis in Bauchi State,” the statement added.
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DANA forced Ill-fated plane to fly – Staff alleges

9:59 AM No Comments

LAGOS — An official of Dana Airline, yesterday, made a startling revelation on the circumstances surrounding Sunday’s crash of the airline’s Lagos-bound plane in Iju-Ishaga, Lagos, saying the management of the airline knew the ill-fated aircraft was faulty before take-off but still went ahead to fly it.

This was corroborated by two officials of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, (NAMA),one of the regulatory agencies in the Aviation sector who argued that the airline should be charged with murder because “the particular aircraft McDonnell 83 with Registration Number 5N-RAM had history of technical problems which both the airline and regulatory agencies were aware of”.
DECEASED Vivien Effiong

According to the officials, “this particular aircraft had hydraulic problems three weeks ago and had to return to Lagos after take off, thereby aborting the flight.

DANA forced plane to fly—Staff alleges

The airline official, who made the revelation in an interview with Channels television,but does not want to be named, confirmed that the ill-fated Dana Air flight 0992, MC Donnell Douglas (MD 83) was faulty shortly after it left Lagos and stopped over in Calabar.

She alleged that the Indian owners of the airline threw caution to the wind and insisted that the plane must fly in a bid to maximise profit, thereby sending the plane over to Abuja to pick passengers, when it should have been returned to Lagos for further repair.

She also claimed the flight has had persistent history of faults with its hydraulics in recent times and it was not supposed to have flown.

According to the official, “the plane has been faulty for a very long time. There was a case when it was on ground in Uyo for over six hours, because of delayed flight, it had a bolt. And then in Abuja it happened a few days ago, then some people went with the aircraft but they could not come back, because it had a fault there and it couldn’t leave Abuja.”

“The same engineers that fixed it and then they sent crew to bring it with passengers to Lagos.”

Confirming that the plane that crashed on Sunday, was not supposed to leave Lagos at all, the Dana official stated that “yesterday, it (Dana Air flight 0992) was not supposed to leave Lagos at all, but it left and then got to Calabar, developed fault and it was fixed and then they took it to Abuja, when they should have returned to Lagos but because they didn’t want to part with the little money they will make, they took it to Abuja, loaded full passengers, and then it couldn’t get to Lagos. ”

“It has been having faults over time, continuously, hydraulics or one thing or the other. That aircraft kept having problems and they were not ready to park it” she alleged.
Fatokun and daughter, Olusola Arokoya, Ajuonuma, Onita, Ike Abugu and Kunbi
She added that the management of the airline does not return aircraft with faults back to the station, as it should have, but “they make it complete its normal route to where ever it is supposed to go before they bring it back to Lagos” she said.

Also, the Special Adviser, Technical to Minister of Aviation, Mr. Victor Oche Elias, has revealed that the pilot of the ill-fated plane, had alerted the aviation authority of the airport, on the emergency situation 11 nautical miles to landing.

It was further disclosed that the pilot’s May-Day cry was given priority, but the plane could not make it, as it crashed 4 nautical miles to landing.

MC Donnell Douglas MD 83 was sold to Dana Airline in 2009 by a US-based Alaska Airlines, ahead of the airline commencing its services in Nigeria.

Dana Air blames crash on engine failure-Apologises

Meanwhile, Officials of Dana airline have attributed the cause of the ill fated flight which crashed at Alagbado on Sunday, to engine trouble Oscar Wason, Dana Air’s director of operations, told CNN the American pilot of the passenger lane had reported engine trouble shortly before the crash. Sources said the engine of the Aircraft had caught fire and the radioed the control tower to declare an emergency, landing as it was in its final approach to Murtala Muhammed International Airport. The Dana Air flight was from Abuja to Lagos with its six crew members. The Boeing MD-83 slammed into a two-storey residential building. This contradicts earlier reports that the ill fated Dana aircraft crashed into high tension electricity tower. The Airline equally apologised to Nigerians and the families of the victims.

Reports said over at least 115 bodies have been recovered from the smoldering wreckage, where rescue workers were still searching for the flight data recorder. Policemen with cadaver dogs and officials of National Emergency Management Agency are maintaining the search for bodies and valuable items inside the wreckage. Large crane from a local construction company was being used to lift pieces of debris away. They also brought blow torches to cut through what remains of the plane. Some of the rescue workers wore masks to protect themselves from the stench from the site of the crash. Lagos state governor Babatunde Fashola told the surging crowd to make way for the first line responders to do their work because they are in an accident site, not a tourist site. Said Governor Fashola: “This is a crash site, it is an investigation site, and we should keep our distance and allow the first responders to do their work.”

Meanwhile families of the deceased are being invited to take a look at some of the recovered bodies for possible identification. Said source: “It is going to be a tough call for some of the families to see the mangled bodies of their loved ones but in this part of the world it is important for departed ones to be given a proper burial.”

By Hugo Odiogor AND LAWANi MIKAIRU
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Crash major setback for aviation industry – Jonathan

9:56 AM No Comments

LAGOS — President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, said the Dana air plane crash was a major setback for the aviation industry at a time when the industry was undergoing a massive transformation to meet up with the global aviation standard.

Speaking at the scene of the plane crash in Iju area of Lagos State, Jonathan assured Nigerians that his administration would thoroughly investigate the accident to know the root cause of the air mishap.
From right: President Goodluck Jonathan; Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State and Acting Inspector General Of Police Mohammed Abubakar at the crash site, yesterday. Photo: State House.
He said: “So, this particular incident is a major setback to us as a people and here with me are members of the National Assembly because we are thoroughly going to investigate this accident. The technical people will carry out their responsibility to tell us what went wrong but we will also look at the administrative issues. That is the part the National Assembly will play. The National Assembly will play its part, the government will also play its part. So at the end of the day, we will make sure that this does not repeat itself in this country.

“It is a sad event for the whole country and all of us feel touched and that is why the Federal Government has declared three days of mourning. You will all agree with me that aviation business is an international business and all the laws that govern aviation are international. So as a nation, it is a very sad event, we have been working very hard to improve the aviation conditions in the country. For those of you who travel a lot, you have noticed some improvement going on in our airports. So the government is totally committed to improving the quality of the aviation in the country.

“We record that only Saturday, we had also a similar incident in Ghana where a Nigerian-based cargo plane had a similar incident but that was not as devastating as this.”

“Let me thank the government of Lagos State for what they have been doing since the crash yesterday because I have been in constant touch with the governor. Let me also thanked all the Federal Government agencies and other private sector operatives like Julius Berger and others who have been working with us voluntarily for this rescue operation.”

We ‘ll continue to struggle with this tragedy—Fashola

While expressing his gratitude to Jonathan, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State said: ”There is not enough for me to say as we will continue to struggle with this tragedy except to thank you for the concern and the support that you have provided since this incident happened since yesterday (Sunday) and on behalf of the government and people of Lagos State, we thank you again in spite of the fact that I briefed you this morning, you still took the pain to fly down here directly to come and commiserate with us, I thank you your Excellency very much.”

Oduah lauds evacuation team

Also the Minister of Aviation, Princes Stella Oduah, while expressing her shock over the incident said: “Our hearts go to our brothers and to our sisters and to our children that lost their lives in this accident. Our hearts also go to the families of these victims that their lives were cut short because of this air mishap, we pray that this thing will not happen to us in this country again.”

Oduah commended the efforts of the evacuation team and said “nothing is enough, nothing will ever be enough because once life is gone you can’t do anything to get them back but I plead with Nigerians to be patience, people are working, we do not know what happened but we know that an air plane crashed and lives were lost and also we know that investigation is being conducted that sooner or later the reason for this incident will be made known to the public and I know.”

We must learn lessons from this incident—Uzordima

On his part, Senator Hope Uzordima, Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, said: “We are yet to recover from the shock of yesterday’s (Sunday) accident, one of the biggest tragedies that has happened in Nigeria in recent time and Mr. President in his wisdom invited all of us to come with him this afternoon to see things for ourselves, we have come, we have seen, we condole the government and people of Nigeria for this strong tragedy that has happened and we are sure that we must also learn lessons from this incident.”

Uzordima said “The government will be supported by the parliament, we are going to look into the immediate and the remote causes of this incident and see how best to strengthened the aviation sector in Nigeria and ensure that there will be no repeat occurrences. I want to implore all of us to take heart and continue to pray to Almighty God who is the author of everything in life, I am sure that we will get through this.”

By Daniel Eteghe
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