A widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Adetoun Ajibola, who lost her husband, Major Olatokunbo Mohammed Ajibola, on September 26, 1992, in the ill-fated military plane crash in Ejigbo, Lagos, has appealed to the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the state House of Assembly to help correct the injustice being done to them (she and the two).

According to Ajibola, her late husband was among the military officers who died in the mishap that occurred in the ill-fated September 26, 1992 C-130 military aircraft crash at Ejigbo, Lagos State.

As a result of the incident, she was left to raise two sons, but while pondering how to navigate the burden, Lagos State government came to her aid like other widows through the allocation of a three-bedroom flat at LMB Estate, Isolo, Block 1, flat 4, otherwise known as Jakande LSPDC Estate, Isolo, Lagos.

“This help cannot be quantified, as it solved the immediate issue of shelter,” she said. With this provision of a roof over their heads, she added, “my children and I will remain forever grateful to the Lagos State government.”

Fate, however, dealt the family another blow, when sometime in December 2012, the allocated premises had to be demolished owing to structural defects discovered in some of the surrounding buildings, leading to the later demolition of their building around this period.

“While some widows brought together by the same fate were lucky, and were paid the princely sum of N200,000, and additionally got new allocations, my children and I strangely were not considered, because my flat was in a different building.”

Ajibola disclosed that several efforts to get the error corrected did not yield result including appeals and letters written to past governors such as Babatunde Fashola and Akinwumi Ambode, taken up pro-bono by different lawyers at different times between 2012 till date have not yielded result.

She added that letters were also written to the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, but none of the agencies followed through to ensure that the omission was corrected.

“The hardship, pain, humiliation and the confusion, which came with the loss of our habitat can only be best imagined. It has been eleven years of waiting, praying and being hopeful. My humble appeal as a citizen, widow of a gallant and noble officer, who died in active service is for my hope and that of my children to be restored,” Ajibola stated.

After wait for about two years with nothing positive coming, she engaged the service of a lawyer. It was therefore, not surprising that on September 29, 2014, lawyers from Olanusi Gibson and Associates wrote the then governor, Babatunde Fashola, drawing his attention to the injustice meted to her.

With nothing positive coming out of that effort, she decided to personally write Fashola on the issue on November 4, 2014. A follow up letter to the one written earlier was dispatched on February 9, 2015, by Olanusi Gibson and Associates to LASEMA drawing the attention of the agency to the anomaly done to the late wife of Ajibola and his children.

By August 12, 2015, not deterred, Ajibola wrote another personal letter to then Governor Akinwumi Ambode on the matter. This was followed by the letter from the Ministry of Defence to Lagos State Governor on December 8, 2021 pleading that her case be looked into.

With no response, she wrote another personal humble appeal letter on March 18, 2024 to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; the speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa; Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Olugbenga Oyerinde and the Special Adviser on Political, Legislative and Civic Engagement, Dr Tajudeen Afolabi, drawing their attention to her plight and that of her children.

Similarly, on June 24, 2024, Adegbenro and Co, on her behalf, wrote Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and LASEMA on the issue. Notwithstanding the series of letters, there have not being concrete effort to act on her case positively. This is despite all the letters that were written to all the elected and appointed political leaders, which were dully received in their offices.

This year alone, her representative has repeatedly been to the Ministry of Housing but only promises that the wrong would be corrected. At a point, the representative was told the documents submitted earlier are missing and that new documents being submitted which has been done but still, it is motion without movement. The Public Affairs Officers of the Ministry of Housing, Ganiu Lawal, who was earlier contacted about Ajibola’s complain, was reached out to again, but he was yet to respond on the reason for the continued delay. (The Guardian)

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