Human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, has raised suspicion over the emergency landing of a private jet on an uncompleted road in Asaba, Delta state.
NPO Reported that the private jet identified as a 1988 CANADAIR LTD CL-600-2B16 with registration number N989BC landed on a roadway in Ogwashi-Uku area near Asaba International Airport on Wednesday.
The private jet was claimed to have conducted a missed approach while attempting to land at the airport around 7:43am.
This forced the pilots to make the emergency landing on a concrete road still under construction.
While its passengers were safely evacuated and transported by road to Asaba, the aircraft reportedly made immediate takeoff back to Lagos.
Reacting to the development in a statement shared on his X handle on Thursday, Sowore claimed that the incident appeared to be unusually staged.
The 2027 African Action Congress (AAC) Presidential candidate alleged that the incident was choreographed to promote the road and score political point for President Bola Tinubu.
“There is something fishy about the reported “landing” and dramatic takeoff of this private jet on a concrete road in Delta State.
“The entire episode appears unusually staged.
“Was it a carefully choreographed publicity stunt designed to promote the road and score political points for the Tinubu administration, or was it being used as a convenient drop-off point for another operation?” Sowore wrote.
Meanwhile, the private jet had since been grounded in Lagos with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) suspending the operator’s permit for non-commercial flights.
Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, made this known in a statement issued on his official X handle hours after the incident.
Keyamo said investigation is ongoing over the cause of the emergency landing with the private jet crew members currently detained.
“The NCAA has placed the flight under regulatory review while it conducts further inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the occurrence and the subsequent unauthorized departure of the aircraft.
“The NCAA is coordinating with relevant aviation stakeholders, including the operator and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
“The NCAA has suspended the operator’s permit for Non-Commercial flight (PNCF).” Keyamo wrote.
The minister said that the NCAA will also review all operational, airworthiness, maintenance, and flight-related records as part of its statutory responsibilities and will take further enforcement action in accordance with applicable aviation regulations.
He said that the crew members are currently in custody as investigation over the cause of the incident commences.
“I have also spoken to relevant security agencies, and I have been assured that the crew are in their custody and they are assisting them with their investigation.” Keyamo stated.