Dis-used aircraft litter Lagos roads

There was panic in some areas of Lagos metropolis, yesterday, following news of plane crashes.

Consequently, residents of the areas, some of whom were jolted from sleep rushed out of their apartments for fear of the unexpected.

The news of the plane crashes were circulated via social media, with a warning to loved ones to avoid places such as Igando, Ojo/Iyana-Iba, Lasu/Isheri Road, Sanya, along the Oshodi/Apapa expressway and Mangoro on the Lagos/Abeokuta expressway.

However, when Vanguard visited Igando, it was a disused  aircraft that was sighted. The aircraft which reports say belongs to the late founder of Bethel Ministries, Dr Gabriel Oduyemi, was reportedly  intercepted by military personnel along the Ojo/Iyana-Iba expressway.

Although, nobody could explain how the plane got to that location, eyewitnesses told Vanguard that it landed mysteriously  about 2 a.m yesterday, in Dapsey fuel station, with patrol vans all over the place.

A nurse on night duty who spoke on condition of anonymity said the plane was right in the middle of the road as a result of a punctured tyre, adding that it almost ran into  a near-by fuel station.

The aircraft  with number N972TF and fully loaded with unknown materials, had  the inscription ‘Gabriel Oduyemi World Outreach’. It  had its two wings broken, with brownish patches suspected to have developed from a long period of dis-use.

A fuel attendant at the scene was prevented from speaking with newsmen by security operatives.

Aircraft almost caused  accident
But an official of the Aviation International Bureau, Tunde Adedoyin, an engineer, said that from preliminary investigation,  it was not an accident case.

Adedoyin said: “What we have done so far is to find out if it was an accident situation. From our preliminary interviews we discovered that the plane was towed to the fuel station.

“The aircraft was almost causing an accident on the road before it was brought into the fuel station. It was in the process of being diverted that it lost one of its back  tyres, according to the reports we got.”

However, owner of the fuel station, Mr.Oladapo Coker, explained that  he gave his consent for the plane to be parked in his filling station, following a call from the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Igando, Olugbenga Adeoye, at about 1 a.m.