Monday, October 25, 1993, a Nigeria Airways Airbus A310 flight from Lagos to Abuja was hijacked by four teenagers and was diverted to Niamey.
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A presidential election was conducted on the 12th of June 1993. MKO Abiola emerged as the President elect in an election that was adjudged to be free and fair. Unfortunately, General Ibrahim Banbangida who was the military president annulled the elections.

The annulment of the elections caused a public outrage and resulted in series of protests, riots and national strikes. IBB stepped down as the military head of state and appointed Ernest Shonekan as the interim president.

On a Monday afternoon, on the 25th of December, A Nigerian Airways Airbus A310 had just departed Lagos, bound for Abuja with over 200 people aboard. Unknown to the passengers and flight crew, trouble was looming in the aircraft.

Four young men, Richard Ogunderu, Kabir Adenuga, Benneth Oluwadaisi and Kenny Rasaq-Lawal, who happened to be the hijackers, boarded the plane quietly. The moment the ‘fasten your seatbelts’ sign was turned off followed by the announcement by the captain.

The hijackers signaled to themselves to seize the aircraft and the aircraft was seized. Passengers aboard the airplane were bewildered to hear a voice different from that of the captain addressing them with a tiny voice:

“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.”

There was panic aboard the aircraft. The flight attendants were scared to make a move. A passenger who was in the toilet at the time of the hijack remained in the toilet until he was dragged out by one of the hijackers.

There were two hijackers in the cockpit and another two in the cabin putting fear on the passengers . The hijackers ordered the pilots to divert the plane to another country. The initial plan was to divert the plane to Germany but the plane did not have enough

Fuel to fly to Germany. Consequently, it was diverted to Niger Republic. The Airbus landed in Niamey with 100s of gendarmes at the Airport. The Hijackers distributed their demands among their passengers, calling on the government to overturn the annulment

And swear MKO Abiola in as the president. They gave the Nigerian government 72 hours to acceed to their demands or have the plane set ablaze. 34 passengers were released while 159 passengers were held hostage. Majority of these passengers were government officials

The Nigerian police could not attack the plane with force as they weren’t sure if the hijackers had military training as they could bomb the aircraft. The plane was held hostage for days until the gendarmes raided

The aircraft with the intention of rescuing the passengers and crew. They fired several shots and in the process, the first officer was killed. The four hijackers were arrested and taken to a prison in a community where the temperature was 55 degrees.

All the four hijackers have been released and are still alive and well.

The Civil Aviation Act criminalises Aircraft Hijacking, punishable with imprisonment for life

The end