THE Beechcraft 1900D aircraft declared missing since March 15 may have been flown out of the country on the order of a former governor to weaken evidences against him in his ongoing trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).


Reliable security sources indicated that the aircraft, owned by the former governor, was flown to a West African country as directed by the embattled ex-governor who is facing corruption charges at a Federal High Court.


According to the security sources, the aircraft was one of the exhibits to be used in the prosecution of the ex-governor as the EFCC had listed it as one of the properties acquired by the ex-governor while in office.


Informed sources revealed that the aircraft was hurriedly moved to destroy evidence that the ex-governor acquired any aircraft, as the anti-graft body has alleged in its over 103 charges against him.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/25042008/news/news1.html

This man was intelligent enough to fool about 140 million persons including Umooruu.
I weep for Nigeria.

nuzo:

Reliable security sources indicated that the aircraft, owned by the former governor, was flown to a West African country as directed by the embattled ex-governor who is facing corruption charges at a Federal High Court.

Odili is not facing corruption charges at any Federal High Court!

Point of correction - That plane belongs to Wings Aviation Limited and we all know that Wings Aviation is owned by James Onanefe Ibori and not Peter Odili.

Misinformation

Good to know that no plane crashed.But unfortunately,nothing is going to be done about this monumental disgrace.how can a Nigerian put us all through the pain that another plane crashed just because he wants to evade justice?A day is coming when all these animals will pay for their misdeeds against us.

Evade justice?

Abi Insurance Fraud??

Nijaaaa na waaoooooo

May be that was why nobody was talking about the family members of the occupants of the aircraft and possible compensation for them

are we sure the real names of the occupants were given

with time more facts will emerge

This sounds like folk tales from a village clan, i wish our great country all the best

@ poster
why/how have u come to the conclusion that the ex governor in question is odili?

Actually the poster made a mistake. It is James Ibori that owns the aircraft. Now that the cat has been let out of the bag, let us see if they will just allow him walk after making a mockery of Nigeria with this "missing aircraft" embarrassment.

baz101:

This sounds like folk tales from a village clan, i wish our great country all the best

humantoy:

Good to know that no plane crashed.But unfortunately,nothing is going to be done about this monumental disgrace.how can a Nigerian put us all through the pain that another plane crashed just because he wants to evade justice?A day is coming when all these animals will pay for their misdeeds against us.

speechless i am

Amazing!!! I hope this is not a sensational crap.

shouldnt be suprised,when someone in the efcc(ibori)can threaten to remove the efcc chairman and he was removed eventually, nigeria s special but love naija

i read it in a paper that the air craft did not crash, that if it did, it will trigger a signal to the air craft manufacturer at canada, by my question is this.

1.if the air craft did not crash, where did it land?
2. who is it carrying?

Fresh Poser Over Missing Aircraft

[url]http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article03//indexn2_html?pdate=260408&ptitle=Fresh%20Poser%20Over%20Missing%20Aircraft[/url]

MORE posers have been raised over the fate of the pilot and the crew of the Obudu-bound Beechraft 1900D declared missing last month.

Aviation experts and associates of captain Augustine Egbedi, who sought anonymity, told The Guardian that he could not have flown a faulty aircraft.

According to them, Egbedi was too security and safety conscious to fly a plane that was not in good shape.

Even thought the immediate family of the late captain declined to comment on the fate of their breadwinner and the accident, The Guardian learnt that they were not also convinced that the plane actually crashed.

According to a source, there was nothing to suggest that the aircraft belonging to Wings Aviation Ltd crashed as being speculated.

The source said even the aircraft manufacturers based in Canada said there was nothing to point to a possible crash by the light aircraft.

The source said when contacted, the manufacturers said that if the plane was involved in any mishap, a device installed in it would have triggered an alarm in their office in Ontario, Canada.

Only yesterday, a national daily, (not The Guardian) reported that the aircraft was not missing. It alleged that the airline, owned by a former governor must have been flown to a neighbouring country to frustrate the effort of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prosecute him.

Aviation experts corroborated the doubts being raised over the alleged crash when they said that the aircraft would have automatically sent signals about its location.

The family of the co-pilot of the plane, have resigned to fate over the safety of their son. Alhaji Muhammad Ahmed Tongo, a Federal Commissioner of National Population Commission (NPC) and father of the co-pilot had narrated that when he heard of the missing aircraft, he panicked and called his son's phone number to confirm whether he was involved but the line was out of reach.

All efforts he made to reach his son's associates to know whether he travelled within the period of the incident he said failed as nobody seemed to know his whereabouts.

At that point, he said he became suspicious, which was heightened when an unknown caller who introduced himself as the MD of the Wings Aviation, said that he regret to inform him that his son was among the three-member crew of the missing aircraft."

Tongo said the MD asked him not to lose hope, and that the family should continue to pray "since then we have been praying but no positive information up to this time."

He said he reached the MD two days later, who said he would be in Obudu along with some officials for a search.

Tongo then proceeded to Gombe his hometown from Abuja for the condolence session. He told the MD that he would make a stopover at Bauchi Airport for the arrival of his son's body but there was nothing like that.

Penultimate Thursday, according to him, he got a call from somebody who told him to hold on for the Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Liyel Imoke, who sympathised with him over the tragedy.

The co-pilot was born 35 years ago. He was the fifth in a family of 11 and attended the Covenant Secondary School, Bauchi, the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria and Forth Elizabeth College in South Africa.

lafile:

Misinformation

Sorry for the misinformation. I intended mentioning Ibori and not Odili.
Moderator, could you help correct the mistake?

Ibori again?

I wonder how a long time chronic criminal managed to become the governor of my state and ruled for 8 _goodbad years,his hand is still in the present administration in the state.

So much for transparency in governance

Ibori, wife convicted of theft — UK Police
By Oscarline Onwuemenyi, Abuja
Published: Thursday, 17 Jan 2008
Fresh facts emerged on Wednesday that a former Delta State Governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, and his wife, Nkoyo, were convicted for theft in the United Kingdom, 18 years ago.

In another instance, Ibori was also convicted for credit card fraud and for handling stolen goods.
According to court documents sent from the UK to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, Ibori had been charged for theft in the UK, alongside his then girlfriend, Miss Theresa Nkoyo Nakanda.
Ibori, who was working as a cashier at Wickes Store, in Ruslip, London, in 1990, had allowed his girlfriend to pass through his check without paying for the goods she collected.
He was said to have proceeded to dispose of the till receipts in order to cover up the theft.
Both were charged with one-count of theft under Section 1 of the Theft Act 1968, of the UK, and fined £300 British sterling and ordered to pay £450 as costs.
A signed statement by a British police officer, Mr. DC John McDonald, who arrested Nkoyo Ibori in 2007, on suspicion of being involved in money laundering, stated that the EFCC had requested the documents concerning two previous convictions held on record in the UK, for prosecuting their case against Ibori.
Mcdonald stated, “On November 1, 2007 at 2050 hours, I arrested Mrs. Theresa Nkoyo Ibori at the Heathrow Airport on suspicion of being concerned in money laundering. She was later conveyed to the Police Station at Heathrow Airport.
“During the procedure of booking in Mrs. Ibori at the police station, it is routine to obtain copy of her fingerprints, these fingerprints are obtained on the computer-based National Automated Fingerprints Identification System.”
McDonald noted that should the fingerprints obtained match with any already held on police national fingerprint database, then a report would be produced in due course.
“As a result of Mrs. Ibori’s fingerprints being taken, a report was produced stating that the fingerprints were an exact match to a set of fingerprints held for an individual, Theresa Nakanda, under the Police reference number 134269/90F,” the statement read.
The documents made available exclusively to The Punch, further stated that the prints were obtained on August 28, 1990, at Uxbridge Police Station, adding that Nakanda was Mrs. Ibori’s maiden name.
Continuing, it confirmed that Ibori was on February 7, 1992 at the Isleworth Crown Court in the UK, convicted of one-count of handling stolen goods.
“The circumstances of that charge relate to Mr. Ibori’s possession of a stolen American Express Card belonging to another knowing or believing that card to be stolen,” it added.
It noted that the original arrest for that offence took place on September 12, 1991 at Euston Rail Station, stressing that Ibori was fined £100 and ordered to pay £50 as costs.
“During the procedure following the arrest, Ibori provided the address of 3, Atherstone Road, Harrow, Middlesex.
“I can confirm that as a result of documentation in my possession that James Ibori and Miss Theresa Nakanda once owned this property,” McDonald added.
Ibori is currently standing trial on a 129-count charge of corruption, money laundering and abuse of office, instituted by the EFCC.
The Kaduna Division of the Federal High Court, presided over by Justice Mohammed Lawal Shuaibu, on Tuesday, fixed January 31, 2008, for ruling on the bail application filed by the former governor.
The EFCC had argued against granting him bail, emphasising that because of his status as an ex-convict and his enormous influence as a former governor, Ibori would

Source Please (though I believe your story is likely true)

Ibori is also an ex-felon from Nigeria. It was all exposed when Great Ogboru was appealing his gubernatorial candidacy.

where is Ibori? when was he seen last?

i think its just sensational journalism,efcc or any law enforcement dont need the physical aircraft to prove he has an aircraft,there are records that can be acessed where the plane was bought,its not like we r on about a car or motorcycle

may god pardon that guy called odili for giving naigeria international heart attack.what nonsense is that, a missing plane that cannot be located in however long!