The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) joins Nigerians in solemn remembrance of the men and women of the Nigerian Armed Forces who perished in the horrific Nigerian Air Force C-130 Hercules crash at Ejigbo, Lagos, on September 26, 1992
Thirty-four years later, the pain of that tragedy remains etched in the nation's collective memory. It was not merely an aviation disaster; it was a devastating national tragedy that robbed Nigeria of courageous servicemen and women and left behind grieving spouses, children, parents, relatives and communities whose lives were permanently altered.
The tragedy occurred during one of the darkest periods of Nigeria's military rule, when the values of democracy, accountability, transparency and respect for human rights were severely undermined. For CDHR, remembering the victims must therefore go beyond ceremonies and annual tributes. **A nation that honours those who died serving it must also confront the institutional failures, culture of impunity and disregard for human life that allow preventable tragedies to occur.**
The fallen were not statistics. They were fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and colleagues. Behind every uniform was a human being and behind every fallen serviceman or woman was a family that carried the burden of loss long after the nation moved on.
CDHR therefore calls on the Federal Government to ensure that the victims of the Ejigbo disaster and their families are not forgotten. Government must preserve their memory, recognise their sacrifices and ensure that surviving families who continue to bear the consequences of that tragedy receive the dignity, recognition and support they deserve.
We also call for the preservation of the historical records surrounding the disaster so that future generations of Nigerians can learn from this painful chapter of our national history.
**Thirty-four years is a long time, but justice, remembrance and accountability have no expiration date.**
As we bow our heads in remembrance today, CDHR salutes the courage and sacrifice of all those who lost their lives in the Ejigbo tragedy.
May their memories remain a permanent part of Nigeria's history.
May the families they left behind never be forgotten.
And may Nigeria build institutions in which **human life is valued, public officials are accountable, truth is protected, and no tragedy is buried beneath the passage of time.**
**We remember.
We mourn.
We demand accountability.
We will never forget.**
**Signed:**
Comrade Debo Adeniran
President CDHR
Comrade Deacon Jeremiah Onyibe
CDHR National Publicity Secretary
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