20 Years After Father’s Death in Air Crash, NAF Officer Loses Husband in Another Crash

20 Years After Father’s Death in Air Crash, NAF Officer Loses Husband in Another Crash

A Nigerian Air Force family has been hit by another devastating tragedy, 20 years after the reported death of a senior officer in a military aircraft crash in Benue State.

Flight Lieutenant Damilola Adekunle is reportedly the daughter of the late Wing Commander E. O. Adekunle, who was among the Nigerian military personnel killed in an aircraft crash in Benue State in 2006.

The incident occurred on September 17, 2006, when a Nigerian Air Force Dornier 228 aircraft crashed in the Oko area of Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State.

The aircraft was carrying senior military officers reportedly travelling towards Cross River State. Thirteen military personnel were killed in the crash, including Wing Commander Adekunle, who was reported to have been serving as co-pilot.

Twenty years later, tragedy has reportedly struck the family again.

According to reports following the latest Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash, Flight Lieutenant Adekunle recently married Squadron Leader Ahamefule Aham Man-Ugwueje.

The marriage reportedly took place on September 19, 2026.

Barely three weeks later, Man-Ugwueje was among the Nigerian Air Force personnel killed in the crash involving NAF 931 at Igbokoda in Ondo State on October 5, 2026.

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The Nigerian Air Force has identified Man-Ugwueje among the personnel who lost their lives in the incident. He was reportedly serving as the aircraft’s co-pilot.

The reported connection between Flight Lieutenant Adekunle and the late Wing Commander Adekunle has given the tragedy an especially painful dimension.

If the family relationship reported in accounts of the incident is confirmed, it would mean that Adekunle lost her father in a Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash in 2006 and, two decades later, lost her newly married husband, also a Nigerian Air Force pilot, in another crash.

The timing is particularly poignant, as Man-Ugwueje reportedly died just 16 days after his marriage to Flight Lieutenant Adekunle.

The latest crash has claimed the lives of several Nigerian Air Force personnel whose identities have been officially released by the Service, prompting condolences from across the country and renewed attention to the risks associated with military aviation.

For the family of Flight Lieutenant Adekunle, however, the tragedy carries a deeply personal history.

Twenty years after the loss of a father in a military aircraft accident, she is reportedly facing the loss of her husband in another.

While the Nigerian Air Force has officially identified the personnel who died in the latest crash, details of the reported family relationship between Flight Lieutenant Adekunle and the late Wing Commander Adekunle are being reported with caution pending independent confirmation.

The fallen officers will be remembered for their service to the nation.

Newstrends extends its condolences to the families, colleagues and loved ones of all the Nigerian Air Force personnel who lost their lives in the crash.

20 Years After Father’s Death in Air Crash, NAF Officer Loses Husband in Another Crash