Press Release: ADC PLANE CRASH AND DEATH OF SULTAN 29th October, 2006

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) received with shock the tragic news of an ADC plane crash which claimed the lives of about one hundred persons including that of the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido today, Sunday 29th 2006.

Our hearts are heavy but we accept the will of Allah since it is certain that all souls shall taste of death (Qur’an 3:185). We therefore condole families of the late Sultan who lost three of their members in the sad event. May Allah give them the strength to bear this colossal loss. MURIC prays for the families of the remaining victims of the unfortunate crash. May the Compassionate Lord bring sunshine back into their lives.

We commiserate with the Federal Government as well as the Governor and people of Sokoto State. We appeal to Nigerians to quickly put the sad event behind them and forge ahead to make our country great.

MURIC is however constrained to recall that Nigeria has recorded too many plane crashes lately including Bell View and Sosoliso crashes in Lisa and Port-Harcourt respectively. Both crashes claimed large numbers of victims. The frequency of air disaster in Nigeria is symptomatic of Government’s ‘molue’ mentality which explains its lackadaisical disposition to matters of human safety. It is well known that operators of ‘molue’ buses have neither the culture of maintenance nor the courtesy to care for their passengers’ safety.

It is preposterous that in spite of repeated warnings from within and outside the country concerning the poor state of Nigeria’s aviation industry, little is known to have been done to correct the anomaly.

MURIC charges the Federal Government to pay serious attention to the aviation industry and all forms of transportation in general. The condition of many of the planes being used by airline operators is alarming. Nigeria’s roads, at best, are still killing ground. This is why death toll on our roads is one of the highest in the world.  We urge the Government to act very quickly and stop the unnecessary carnage both in the air and on the roads.

Dr. Is-haq Akintola
DIRECTOR