Celebration of Nigeria’s Day of Independence cancelled due to air disaster

Date: 1 Oct 1992
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Celebration of Nigeria’s Day of Independence cancelled due to air disaster

Nigeria's thirty-second independence anniversary celebration was called off at the last minute by General Ibrahim Babangida's military government as result of an air disaster, involving a Nigerian Air Force transport aircraft, in which over 160 military officers were killed. The Hercules C-130 crashed in Ejigbo, Lagos. The plane was said to have broken into two after crashing into some palm trees before sinking into the Ejigbo swamp. Instead of a national celebration, the nation was thrown into national mourning. The cancellation of the celebrations was done in honour of those who had died in the crash and to give Nigerians the opportunity to mourn them.

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01Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Celebration of Nigeria’s Day of Independence cancelled due to air disaster. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013052

South African History Online (2011) 'Celebration of Nigeria’s Day of Independence cancelled due to air disaster', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013052 (Accessed: 25 July 2026).

South African History Online, Celebration of Nigeria’s Day of Independence cancelled due to air disaster [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013052, (accessed 25 July 2026).

"Celebration of Nigeria’s Day of Independence cancelled due to air disaster." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013052. Accessed 25 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Celebration of Nigeria’s Day of Independence cancelled due to air disaster." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013052.