Should I call them Nigeria’s bravest boys or the most deluded youths of this Federation? Or place them in between? I really don’t know but I am hoping that by the time you finish reading this, you will help me out. On the 25th of October, 1993, there was a fantastic drama high up in the skies of Nigeria. 30,000 feet above sea level, a commotion was in play. Four young Nigerian men (one of whom was a teenager) had hijacked an aircraft belonging to the Nigerian Airways with a toy gun, four litres of petrol and knives. The nation was spellbound and the entire world shifted its focus on the West African behemoth in a matter of minutes. The New York Times ran away with the news spreading the buzz of the four men while the Nigerian press went gaga.
Rumour mongers had a field day spinning all sorts of tales. Coming at a time when there was a lot of political tension and social chaos in the land, many Nigerians were simply stunned while others stayed glued to their black-and-white TV sets, staring in disbelief. In no time, the hijackers had taken control of the aircraft, contacted the control tower, made confidently grand demands, held every single passenger on board hostage and threatened to set the aircraft on fire. No be shereshere o! But what actually happened on that Monday and what led to it? Let’s go there…terror in the Nigerian skies, the scintillating story of the four hijackers.
THE AIRCRAFT
It was a big bird -an Airbus A310-200, a twin-engined widebody jet airliner (see pictures).
THE FLIGHT AND PASSENGERS
The exact number of the passengers varies slightly depending on your source. But according to the New York Times, there were 159 passengers on board. Some other records indicated there were between 135-137 passengers inside the plane. The plane’s flight was supposed to be from Lagos to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, a distance of about 509 kilometres. Inside the plane were top Nigerian government functionaries and businessmen off to Abuja for very important deals.
THE HIJACKERS
–RICHARD ‘Richie’ AJIBOLA OGUNDERU
In an interview with the Nation newspaper, Ogunderu revealed the intent behind their action and narrated their experience. He stated that the boys were ‘meaningfully desperate’ and they were truly frustrated by the annulment of the June 12 elections. He said that it seemed the nation was drifting towards the cliff of another civil war and he and his group had to do something to ‘send jitters down the spine of those in power.’ to show that ‘Nigerians were not everlasting dummies’. Well, I am not sure former Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State will agree with that last statement…lol! Hear Ogunderu:
‘We wanted change. Our action confirmed that when a system is inhuman, it could produce the extreme in all of us. A system that cares not, a system that does not listen to our cries and our woes, a system that wants to exterminate us does not deserve a day of existence’. He also stated that he was not afraid when the commandoes stormed the aircraft: We were on a mission, we wanted to show the evil regime that young people were prepared to go the extra length to free Nigerians from the yoke of military dictatorship. We were not afraid, at that moment, death meant nothing to us. They stormed the place and we were alarmed, we didn’t shoot, we tried to perfect our safety and the safety of the passenger.’ Ogunderu was the one in charge of the coordination of the hijack and was responsible for delegating to each of the hijackers, their duties and the steps to be taken during the hijack. He said: ‘We wanted freedom, freedom to choose our leaders. We were pushed to the extreme and we reacted in an extreme manner.’
Richard had just finished high school from Ondo State at that time and he was the one who got up first as the plane climbed and he approached the C0ckpit where he gave orders to the pilot and the co-pilot. You know, like a boss…lol! His father was arrested and detained by Abacha after the hijack and interrogated. Interestingly, Ogunderu was the youngest then, he was just 19.
–KABIR ADENUGA
The second of the hijackers, Adenuga said they carried out the hijack ‘to show the resentment against annulment of the June 12 election.’ He is still sad that today, the system has not changed. Were their actions in vain? He was 22 years old.
–BENNETH OLUWADAISI OSOSANYA
He was 24 years of age at that time.
–KENNY RASAQ-LAWAL
He was 23 at that time.
For the four hijackers, they were obviously inexperienced with the dangerous art of hijacking and for some of them, that was the first time they would fly in a plane.
THE HIJACK
Just as the bird was up in the sky, settling for the cruise phase, the pilot announced that passengers could unlatch their seatbelts. At that moment, the four young men gave signals to each other by blinking and in a flash, they took over the craft. They were armed with guns and knives. Ogunderu led the hijack team and he recalled: : ‘I walked into the C0ckpit and seized the process, and then the others followed me. Two of us stood in the plane to intimidate the passengers. We took over the plane and asked the pilot to head for another country.’
From the microphone, the leader of the strike team thundered:
‘Ladies and gentlemen, this plane has been taken over by the Movement for the Advancement of Democracy, remain calm, we will not harm you. You will be told where the plane will land you.’
According to Ogunderu, one of the four hijackers, the air hostesses were visibly frozen with fear and the terror in the faces was clearly palpable. O’boy, if na you too nko…lol! Ta lo ma ri iku to ma ping? LOL! They were threatened and told not to move if they do not want to be killed. One of the passengers who was inside the aircraft lavatory kuku decided to stay locked inside until Ogunderu went inside and pulled him out of the toilet….lmao!
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