Today marks the second year anniversary of the Dana plane crash. Widows, widowers, children, relatives and friends of the victims will throng the crash site in Iju-Ishaga, Lagos, to remember their beloved ones, who died in the crash.
Memories of their beloved ones and the day-Sunday, June 3, 2012, will flow back at everyone. Tears of sorrow will flow freely on the checks of the relatives as they lay wreath in honour of the victims.
The ill-fated Dana air flight 992 left the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja on June 3, 2012 for Lagos, with 147 passengers and 10 crew members on-board but crash landed and exploded in Iju-Ishaga axis of the state killing everyone on-board including 10 people on the ground, which increased the casualties to 167.
As the relatives lay their wreaths and console one another, they will hope that the recurring issues of compensation, omission and misrepresentation of victims will be resolved sooner than later and that the coroner conducting an inquest into the cause of the crash will submit its verdict today at the Ebute-Metta Chief Magistrates’ Court.
Also, residents of Akande Community Development Area, CDA will hope that the Lagos State Government will complete the construction of access roads to the crash site as promised last year before the first anniversary.
Dana yet to compensate us —Victims
Pastor Fredrick Akingbe, who spoke on behalf of the ground victims, said: “The compensation falls into different category-tenants, landlord and others. We are yet to receive any compensation from Dana Airline for the loss we suffered two years ago. And that was why we have asked our lawyer to file a suit against Dana Airline.”
He noted that the compensation paid on September 3, 2013 by the Lagos State Government was for five landlords whose lands were acquired by the government for the construction of the Dana Cenotaph.
Mr. Gbenga Eguntola, counsel to 10 of the 167 victims and 141 residents who suffered lose due to the ill-fated flight, said that they have filed a suit against Dana and the insurance company.
Eguntola lamented that “some residents, who suffered injuries, loss of property and others were forced to relocate to Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA relief camp, where they lived for few months. Due to the loss suffered, some were forcefully relocated out of the community because it was not conducive for them to live there anymore.
Despite all these, Dana is yet to pay any of the claims. The letter written to us by Mr. Yemi Osikoya & co, the solicitor to Dana Airline informed us that they are not liable to the loss suffered by the residents.
“We took our time to wait whether the airline will have a change of heart. But they did not. The truth is we can no longer wait in perpetuity. We believe that Dana has already moved up with their businesses, forgetting the plight of these people. Since they refused to listen to us, we decided to seek for justice in the law court. We filed our suit on Wednesday, May 28, 2014 at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi Lagos.
And this is in consonant with the law. The law says that we must file our suit within two years. And we have done that in order not to violate the law,” he said.
Speaking on the omission, Eguntola said the residents do not have grievances against the state government over the omission and misrepresentation of the victims’ name.
“The entire death claims I have are not processed in Nigeria. They are done in Florida, USA. We are also in court in Florida. We have informed stakeholders about the omission. Some of the victims were badly burnt and the DNA could not march. That doesn’t mean that they did not die. At the moment, no one could say where these people are,” he said.
We’re not aware of suit —DANA
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