Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has ordered the ministries of environment and health to commence mass fumigation of the river following complaints by Igbokoda people of the overwhelming stench from the river where the Nigerian Air Force aircraft crashed last week.
The order is to prevent what could be a probable epidemic of infections as the river is a vital source of livelihood for inhabitants of Igbokoda and nearby areas, Channels TV says.
Governor further asked the administration of Ilaje Local Government to arrange for water tankers to ensure uninterrupted supply of potable water to the inhabitants should the river be heavily polluted and unfit for usage.
The arrangement signed a statement,
The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Idowu Ajanaku, was to stay in place until a permanent intervention could be made to check the pollution.
Governor Aiyedatiwa also asked the ministries to distribute nose masks and other vital health kits to citizens to protect them against possible health threats.
The governor assured the Nigerian Air Force of the full cooperation of the state government for the current evacuation exercise and the welfare and safety of the residents of the impacted town.
On October 5, 2026, NAF ATR-42 aircraft, NAF 931, crashed with 25 people on board, including five crew members and 20 passengers.
The tragedy happened as the aircraft was supposed to be on a normal flight from Benin City in Edo State to Lagos.
The passengers and crew are still missing but authorities promptly launched search-and-rescue measures.
The Nigerian Airforce yesterday constituted a 12-man board to investigate the disaster.
The Service said the board will determine conditions and causes of the collision and make recommendations to prevent similar incidents.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, has directed continuous search and recovery operations and a thorough investigation into the crash.
The inquiry board will be led by Air Vise Marshal FO Ankeli, with Air Vise Marshal EOE Ebiowe, leader of the inquiry and Recovery Team, coordinating the larger response.
The board includes expertise in aviation operations, flight safety, piloting, air traffic control, aircraft engineering, maintenance, medical services and other technical areas.
It also includes officials of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau so that expertise on civil aviation is available.
The NAF said the probe would look into operational, technical, environmental, human and organisational issues that may have led to the disaster.
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