By George Omagbemi
For Flight Lieutenant Damilola Adekunle, the Nigerian Air Force has been part of her family’s history for much of her life. It has now also become the setting for two devastating losses, two decades apart.
On September 17, 2006, her father, Wing Commander E.O. Adekunle, was among 13 military officers who died when a Nigerian Air Force Dornier 228 aircraft crashed in the Vandeikya area of Benue State. The aircraft was travelling from Abuja towards Obudu in Cross River State when it went down. Contemporary accident records identify Adekunle among those who died in the crash and list him as one of the aircraft’s pilots.
Twenty years later, Damilola, herself a Nigerian Air Force officer, married another Air Force pilot.
On September 19, 2026, she and Squadron Leader Ahamefule Aham Man-Ugwueje were married in Abuja. Their wedding ceremony was held at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, The Master’s Place, in Utako, followed by a reception at the Nigerian Army Conference Centre in Asokoro. Details of the ceremony were confirmed through the wedding invitation and posts shared by vendors involved in the event.
Just 16 days later, tragedy struck again.
On October 5, 2026, Man-Ugwueje was among the 25 people who died when Nigerian Air Force aircraft NAF 931, an ATR-42, crashed in the Igbokoda area of Ilaje Local Government Area, Ondo State, during a routine mission from Benin to Lagos.
The Nigerian Air Force subsequently confirmed that all 25 people aboard the aircraft died. Man-Ugwueje was listed among the five crew members and identified as one of the aircraft’s co-pilots.
The two tragedies have created a painful connection between separate generations of the Adekunle family.
Damilola had lost her father to a military aircraft accident in 2006. Twenty years later, after following him into the Nigerian Air Force, she lost her newlywed husband in another Air Force crash.
The loss is particularly poignant because the marriage had taken place only a little over two weeks before Man-Ugwueje’s final flight. In a tribute reported on Wednesday, Damilola mourned her husband and recalled that he had left for Abuja without knowing that he would never return.
Man-Ugwueje also came from a military family. Reports identified him as the son of a retired Group Captain, meaning that his own career in the Air Force continued a family tradition of military service.
For the Adekunle family, therefore, the dates September 17, 2006, September 19, 2026, and October 5, 2026 have become connected by a story of service, marriage and loss.
The Nigerian Air Force has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of the Ondo crash. As that investigation continues, the families of those who died are left to mourn.
For Damilola, the grief carries an especially painful history: a father lost in an Air Force crash two decades ago, and a husband lost in another — only 16 days after their wedding.
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