Dana crash: Coroner’s inquest begins

Posted by admin Headlines Monday, June 18th, 2012

The Coroner of Alimosho District in Lagos State, Mr. Oyetade Alexander Komolafe, yesterday began an inquest into the circumstances leading to the June 3 Dana plane crash at Iju-Ishaga area of the state. All the 153 passengers on board, including the crew as well as unspecified number of people on ground perished in the crash, which occurred at a residential area.
The chambers of Falana and Falana had requested for the inquest in a letter, dated June 5 and addressed to the Coroner.

Last Thursday, the Coroner-judge of the state, Justice Lateefah Okunnu ordered the inquest. At the inaugural sitting yesterday, Mrs. Funmi Falana informed the court that the chambers of Olisa Agbakoba was also interested in the matter.

In her address, she also told the court that in line with the relevant laws, certain individuals, professional bodies and agencies ought to be summoned before the court. Listed to testify at the inquest, according to Komolafe and Falana, include; Minister of Aviation, Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), Zone 2, representatives of Dana Airlines, National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Lagos State Police Command, Lagos Airport Command of the Police, Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA) and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

Others include; Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Nigerian Red Cross, Cleanserve Oil, Sahara Oil, MRS, AP, Total, Conoil, Nigerian Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), relatives of the victims of the crash, as well as surviving victims, among others. The coroner, however, adjourned till July 12, 2012 for parties to be served and to enable the chambers of Olisa Agbakoba prepare for the inquest.

In the request to the Coroner-judge, the principal partner of the Falana & Falana Chambers, who is also the former Chairman, West African Bar Association (WABA), Mr. Femi Falana, had cited Section 15 of the Lagos State Coroner’s Law 2007, which provides that an ‘inquest shall hold whenever a Coroner is informed that the death of a person within his district was in a violent, unnatural or suspicious situation.’

“We have confirmed that the aircraft was allowed to fly even though it was defective. The distress call made by the pilot of the ill-fated aircraft several minutes before the crash was ignored by the Airport authorities while the management of the disaster was crude as members of the public had to use bare hands in the rescue operations,” Falana had alleged in his letter to the Coroner-judge.

-Sunwp_posts