victims of last Sunday’s Dana flight 992 crash
have rejected a Lagos State proposal to give the victims a joint burial.
The state had reportedly said that if
the families agreed to a joint burial in a dedicated cemetery, the families
would be allowed to exhume the corpses if they wished to identify them further.
One of the victims’ relative,
John Akande, told our correspondent that the families rejected the option of a
joint burial because of the stress it would bring.
“The process of exhuming the bodies
could be tedious, which is why we rejected it. The government committee and our
own committee will meet to sort things out so that we can all have the remains
of our members on time,” Akande said.
Lagos State Governor Babatunde
Fashola, who addressed journalists after a four-hour meeting with the families
on Sunday, said they (famlies) agreed to be patient, while government identified
the victims before their release for burial.
He said, “The families agreed with
the process we adopted. They agreed to wait while we identify the bodies.
“We subsequently set up a
relationship team (committee) to be made up of people from government and some
members of the families. The committee will coordinate information between
government and families and manage the release of the bodies.”
The families would meet at the
mortuary of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital on Monday (today).
Meanwhile, there are indications at
the weekend that relatives of the crash in which all 153 on board perished were
already talking to lawyers with a view to file charges against Dana airlines,
operators of the Boeing MD-83, and national aviation agencies, including the
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
Investigation by The PUNCH at the weekend showed that relatives
of the crash in which all 153 on board perished were already talking to lawyers
with a view to filing charges against Dana Air, operators of the Boeing MD-83,
and national aviation agencies, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority.
“We have resolved to go to court to
seek justice. Why will they operate a faulty aircraft? Why did the regulators
allow that to happen?”a close relative of one of the victims who spoke to our
correspondent in Abuja on Sunday said.
The source said the decision to go to
court was taken at a meeting of the deceased’s family but that he was not
authorised to speak to the media on the plan.
He said, “Now all we are hearing is
that those who are responsible will not go unpunished, that is medicine after
death. Will that bring our brother back to us?
“If the right thing was done, he and
the other passengers, will still be alive today. The government can do whatever
they wish to do but we are taking our grievances to court.
“We are not seeking compensation, we
are not looking for money; how much will they pay for our brother’s life? We
are seeking justice.
“We are yet to agree on that but even
though it might be better to wait until the report comes out, some of us are
concerned that it might take a long while before it is released,” he said.
Lawyers who spoke to our
correspondent on the development noted that various reports on the plane crash
indicated a high degree of negligence on the part of the airline and the
aviation authorities.
The legal practitioners admitted that
there were strong grounds on which the victims’ family members could sue the
airline, as well as the aviation agencies.
An Abuja-based legal practitioner,
Mr. Pius Ofulue, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, noted that
Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, reportedly complained to Dana Air
officials about the condition of the aircraft.
Ofulue said, “The victims’
beneficiaries and relatives can sue Dana Air for negligence because, according
to Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, he drew their attention to the
condition of the aircraft.
“If that is true then they (the
management of Dana Air) contributed to that by failing to maintain the
aircraft.
“If they are guilty, then they risk
paying much more than the normal insurance benefits. The civil aviation
authority can also be sued because they failed to perform their statutory
duties.”
Another lawyer, Mr. Oghenovo O.
Otemu, Assistant Head of Festus Keyamo Chambers, told our correspondent on the
telephone that the victims’ relatives can approach lawyers to file cases on
their behalf.
Otemu added that the affected
families could either as a group or individually approach the court.
But Otemu added that it would be
unethical for a lawyer to approach the families to advise them to go to court.
“It will be highly unethical for a
lawyer to approach the families and tell them to file charges – that is
touting, it is unethical.
He said the families can sue Dana Air
and the concerned government aviation agencies for negligence.
Otemu said, “They can file (charges)
for negligence. Although we have not seen the report (of the investigations
into the plane crash) yet, from various accounts, there is a degree of
negligence involved in the accident.
“So, Dana Air could be sued for
negligence. It is not only Dana Air, even the government agencies, including
the civil aviation authority can also be sued for that. There are also reports
of negligence on their part.”
Meanwhile, the white paper committee
on the Oronsaye report on the restructuring of government parastatals and
agencies is beaming its searchlight on staffing and financing of the aviation
industry.
Investigations by one of our
correspondents in Abuja on Sunday showed that the committee decided to place
emphasis on agencies in the aviation industry after the June 3 Dana crash.
The recommendations of the white
paper committee are said to have the potential to promote efficiency among
staff and eliminate accidents.
The Oronsaye committee, in its report,
noted that the Accident Investigation Bureau, an autonomous unit in the
Ministry of Aviation, has only 45 personnel.
The staffing of the accident bureau,
our correspondent learnt, had raised concerns that the investigation into the
Dana Air plane crash would not be different from past ones, whose results were
not released.