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By Stella Joshua
A military aircraft with tail number NGR 931, travelling from Benin to Lagos, has crashed near the Naval Base in Igbokoda, Ondo State.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Monday.
Keyamo said Air Traffic Controllers lost contact with the aircraft at about 9:13 a.m. after repeated attempts to establish communication with the crew failed.
He said the wreckage was later located close to the Naval Base in Igbokoda, with search and rescue operations currently underway.
According to the minister, preliminary information indicated that 25 passengers and seven crew members were aboard the aircraft.
Keyamo clarified that the regulation and control of military aircraft were outside the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
He, however, said he had contacted the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, and assured him of the ministry's full cooperation and support in the ongoing search and rescue operation.
The minister added that additional details on the crash would be released as more information became available.