Relatives of crash victims allege abandonment by Dana

Scene of the crash
| credits: file

Some relatives of the victims of the June 3, 2012 Dana Air crash have said the airline has abandoned them and refused to fulfill its promise.

The Dana Air Flight 992 had taken off from Abuja on June 3, 2012. The plane crashed before it could get to its destination ─ Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

It crashed in a residential area in the Iju Ishaga, killing no fewer than 153 persons. The crash was attributed to a dual engine failure.

The relatives of the victims spoke separately with our correspondent on Saturday. While some spoke at the MMIA, others spoke with PUNCH Metro on the telephone.

A medical practitioner, Dr. Ben Anyene, who lost nine of his family members to the disaster, said he had not received any compensation from the airline.

Anyene lost his brother, the brother’s wife, their four kids, mother-in-law, and two nieces of the wife to the incident.

The medical doctor said his family members had come from the United States for a wedding before they met their untimely end.

He said Dana’s claim that most of the victims’ families had been compensated was false and an attempt to compound their grief. He added that the government should intervene.

Anyene said, “What Dana has done to the families of the victims is not only criminal, but demeaning. It only happens in places where institutions are not strong; where people can get away with blue murder.

“Instead of keeping quiet, Dana Airline go about, making claims that everybody has been paid. Why don’t they publish the evidence? It is adding insult to injury. Barely 20 per cent of the families involved in that crash have been paid fully. Many have not even received one kobo. The airline has not given a dime to my family. We asked, but they insisted they are not giving anything.”

A 31-year-old widow, Mrs. Kike Awodogan, while lamenting the death of her husband, Sanmi, accused Dana of denying victims’ families of their rights. The mother of one described her life without her partner as hazy and tough.

Sanmi, Fortune and Enibioluwa

She said, “It is something I don’t wish for my enemy. It is very tough. The loss cannot be quantified. He was also my best friend. He worked in Maryland, United States, and was in Nigeria for three weeks vacation. He was returning from his friend’s wedding in Abuja. You can just imagine the shock. It is very sad. My son is almost four years old now and he keeps asking when his father and Jesus will come back home. I always tell him his father is with Jesus whenever he asks me. I planned to join other grieving families to mark the three years remembrance of the victims on Wednesday.

“We have heard series of stories from Dana. It is only in this part of the world that something like this will happen and the airline will start flying without paying the compensation fully.”

Mr. Obashola Kolawole said he was at the MMIA on the fateful day to pick his 35-year-old wife, Fortune, and their seven-month-old daughter, Eyinjuoluwa.

He added that instead, he received the shocking news that the duo was also among the victims.

He said he was paid 30 per cent of the compensation two months after the incident and had yet to receive the remaining 70 per cent. He also expressed his displeasure at how one of the Dana lawyers handled the incident.

He said, “A few minutes before she and our daughter left Abuja, we spoke and she told me they were about to board, that I should start coming to the airport. Ten minutes after I got to the airport, I heard security officials saying there was a plane crash and unfortunately my family was there. It was traumatic. Whenever I am alone, the memory still comes back and I see it as if they travelled and are still coming back.

“When I met with a lawyer for Dana Airline, he said infant victims won’t get 100 per cent compensation. But I told him that shouldn’t be because nobody knows what my daughter would have become in the future. But the last meeting we had, NCCA assured that everybody would be fully paid. Dana told us to drop a legal action against the company before the remaining 70 per cent would be paid.”

Mr. Femi Ariyibi, who shared a similar experience with Kolawole, said taking care of the kids his wife left behind had been very demanding.

He said, “It has been tough, but I have a very supportive family. I have to be strong to make sure the kids don’t feel their mum’s absence much. We believe things can be done in a proper way so that airline will not take the people for granted. It is important that our institutions are well focused and put human face to situations. The lack of it is what Dana has displayed.”

Thirty-Seven-year-old Mrs. Shobowale, who lost her husband to the crash, said she had found solace in God and her only 10-year-old son.

She said, “Life without a partner is a difficult life. I have one kid and that has been my source of joy. I only got 30 per cent of the compensation. I have submitted all the necessary documents they requested.”

The spokesperson Dana Air, Mr. Sam Ogbogoro, could not be reached for comments as calls made to his line rang out. He had also yet to respond to a message sent to his number as of press time.