IGBOKODA, ONDO STATE — Seventeen days after a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) ATR-42 aircraft crashed in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State—killing all 25 people on board—residents are raising an alarm over an unbearable stench, suspected water pollution, and a sharp decline in their fishing business.
While military personnel continue recovery operations around the crash site, local residents say the environmental aftermath is rapidly degenerating into a public health crisis.
At a Glance: The Environmental Crisis
The Tragedy: A NAF ATR-42 plane crashed in Igbokoda, claiming at least 25 lives.
The Lingering Hazard: Unrecovered, decomposing body parts and spilled aviation fuel are polluting local waterways.
Economic Impact: Fishermen report heavy fish scarcity due to suspected toxic fuel contamination.
Community Demand: Urgent decontamination and air/water quality testing to prevent disease outbreaks.
Government Response: Officials say the first phase of fumigation has begun and will be completed by Friday.
Explaining the severity of the situation, the Ondo State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Tobi Loco, confirmed that recovery teams could only retrieve body parts from the wreckage site, leaving unrecovered human remains to decompose in the swampy terrain.
Loco noted that the environmental impact goes beyond organic decomposition to chemical hazards caused by aviation fuel and volatile organic compounds leaking into the riverine ecosystem.
”Up till now, we have not been able to recover a full body. All that we could get were body parts, and some of them have yet to be recovered,” Loco admitted. “That is a clear signal that there is serious decomposition… Furthermore, the possibility of aviation fuel contaminating the surroundings and the water in that locality cannot be ruled out.”
Loco assured that the ministry is conducting air and water quality tests ahead of a comprehensive decontamination exercise to restore the ecosystem.
Despite government assurances, residents in Igbokoda insist they have seen little evidence of actual decontamination work, complaining that security cordons have kept them in the dark while the foul odour worsens.
A local fisherman, Mr. Festus Ikuomola, lamented that the environmental degradation has wiped out their main source of livelihood.
”They said they would begin fumigation, but nothing has been happening,” Ikuomola said. “We only see the military and police trying to recover the crashed plane… We don’t see as many fish to catch again. The water is no longer conducive for them because of pollution.”
Another resident, Biodun, urged authorities to intervene immediately: “I have not seen any government official in the area, and we still perceive some odour. It would be better for the government to do the needful before the situation gets worse.”
Reassuring the aggrieved community, Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Idowu Ajanaku, stated that environmental remediation efforts are already underway in phases.
”The efforts are ongoing. The fumigation is going on,” Ajanaku said. “We began the first phase of the exercise a few days ago, but by Friday this week, it should be completed.”
With the community’s drinking and fishing waters at risk, residents are calling on both the Federal and Ondo State governments to accelerate cleanup operations and provide relief to affected families.
