The aircraft whose presence at a Lagos petrol filling caused panic this morning in Nigeria’s former capital has been traced to a late clergyman.

A statement released this afternoon in Lagos by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) identified the late Apostle Gabriel Oduyemi of Bethel Ministries as the owner of the jet.

NAMA in the statement personally signed by signed by its Managing Director/Chief Executive, Engr. Mazi Nnamdi Udoh, said the plane had been abandoned at the Murtala Mohammed Airport for years and was recently released to a pilot who said he wanted to use it for educational purposes. The statement did not, however, explain how the plane came to be at Dapsey filling station along the Lagos State University (LASU) - Iba Road close to Igando as reported this morning by News Express. Said Engr. Udoh in the statement:

“The attention of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has been drawn to a purported plane crash yesterday at Igando, a suburb in Lagos State.

“This morning, we were inundated with phone calls and enquiries over a crash involving a small aircraft but there is nothing like that, it is a hoax because our system did not capture any missing plane

“The American registered aircraft is marked N972TF.

“The aircraft in question is actually a junk one belonging to Late Apostle Gabriel Oduyemi of Bethel Ministries and had long been parked at a NAMA facility up till Wednesday night when it was eventually removed.

“The aircraft was actually released to Captain M. J. Ekehinde who will be using it for educational purposes in Badagry, Lagos. A cross section of the wings was removed to ease transportation to its new location.

“I affirm again that NAMA facilities are working at optimal level and this could have assisted in detecting any missing plane within the nation’s airspace.

“While we appreciate the concern of the public on sighting the plane at an unusual site, we urge that people should always contact police and local government officials for proper information before spreading the news on incident involving any aircraft.”

•Photo shows the aircraft.

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