Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), on Sunday called on President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure full implementation of the report of House of Representatives committee on the June 3 crash of a Dana air plane.
The committee's report adopted by the House of Representatives on December 19 blamed the crash on negligence by the regulatory authorities and recommended the dismissal and prosecution of the Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Demuren.
Falana, in a statement, urged the Federal Government to direct Dana Air and other defaulting airline operators to pay the legitimate entitlements of the families of all the victims of plane crashes in the last 20 years.
He said, “Finally, the Federal Government should direct Dana Airlines and other defaulting airlines to pay the legimate entitlements of the families of the hundreds of passengers who were killed in plane crashes which occured in the country in the last 20 years.
“In particular, the military authorities should, without any further delay, pay the compensation of the widows of the 103 military officers who were killed in the Ejigbo plane crash on September 26, 1991. In view of another avoidable plane crash which took place in Bayelsa State last week, President Goodluck Jonathan should send the House report on Dana plane crash to the relevant agencies for full implementation.”
Meanwhile, a Lagos coroner, Mr. Oyetade Komolafe, will on January 8, hear the final report of the Chief Pathologist of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Prof. John Obafunwa, on the victims of the Dana crash.
Obafunwa, who is the Chief Medical Examiner of the hospital, had been scheduled to appear at the coroner court after his July 22, 2012 testimony, giving an insight into the possible cause of death of the victims of the crash.
However, it became impossible for him to give an account of his report to the coroner, due to a suit which stalled the proceedings of the inquest.
The inquest resumed sitting on December 21 after the Federal High Court, Lagos, which heard the suit, dismissed it in a ruling on December 17.
Obafunwa had been expected back at the inquest after the results of the DNA identification tests carried out on the deceased victims of the crash were released in August.
On December 21, when the inquest was scheduled to resume sitting, Obafunwa, Mr. Akinjide Bakare, who is the counsel for the Lagos State Attorney-General, and Mr. Yemi Okunade of the Falana and Falana Chambers were among the few parties who were present.
