“Ladies and gentlemen, This Plane Has Been Taken Over By The Movement for the Advancement of Democracy (MAD).”
On the morning of October 25, 1993, passengers aboard Nigeria Airways Flight WT470 were jolted by an announcement that would become one of the most shocking acts of civil disobedience in Nigeria’s history.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this plane has been taken over by the Movement for the Advancement of Democracy (MAD). Remain calm, we will not harm you. You will be told where the plane will land you.”
The voice belonged to Richard Ogunderu, a 19-year-old fresh secondary school graduate. Alongside Kabir Adenuga (aged 22), Kenny Rasaq-Lawal (aged 23), and Benneth Oluwadaisi (aged 24), they had just hijacked a domestic flight from Lagos to Abuja.
Their mission?
To draw the world’s attention to the annulment of Nigeria’s freest and fairest election, the June 12, 1993.
BACKGROUND
In the year 1993, Nigeria was at a historic crossroad. After nearly a decade of military rule under General Ibrahim Babangida who had banned, unbanned and re-banned political activities, a along-promised transition seemed finally within reach.
A glimmer of hope emerged with the announcement of a presidential election, the first since 1983.
He permitted a presidential elections to hold on June 12, 1993 which is still remembered today as the freest and fairest in Nigerian history. The presumed winner, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, a wealthy businessman and philanthropist, represented the will of the people.
Abiola, was on the verge of leading Nigeria into a new democratic dawn until Babangida annulled the results, citing vague “security threats” and irregularities.
Nigerians erupt in protests. Cities burned with anger and rage. All Labour unions downed their tools. The nation demand answer.
Under immense pressure, Babangida “stepped aside” on August 26, 1993, handing power to an unelected Interim National Government (ING) led by Chief Ernest Shonekan.
To many Nigerians, the ING was an insult, a puppet regime designed to cover up the treachery of June 12….
That frustration was what MAD sought to amplify. The hijackers chose their moment carefully. Flight WT470 wasn’t just another plane, it carried several high-profile passengers, including:
Brigadier-General Hafiz Momoh, Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)
Professor Jubril Aminu, former Minister of Petroleum
Rong Yiren, Vice President of the People’s Republic of China
The hijackers boarded the flight with terrifying ease. The metal detectors at the domestic wing of Lagos Airport had been out of service since 1987. They smuggled aboard petrol stored in raffia bags, lighters, a tear gas canister, jackknives, and what they later claimed were replica firearms.
Once the plane was in the air, they revealed themselves, poured petrol on the floor and on themselves, and issued their demands: the aircraft should be diverted to Frankfurt, Germany.
Frankfurt was out of reach without refueling. The pilots first tried to land in N’Djamena, Chad, but were denied entry. The same response came from Gabon and Ghana. Eventually, the plane was permitted to land at Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, capital of the Republic of Niger. After taking over the plane that day, they handed out printed MAD manifestos to the passengers.
Hours after landing in Niamey, the hijackers released 123 hostages, mostly women, children, and foreign nationals like Rong Yiren. The next day, General Momoh was also freed, as his hypertensive condition worsened under stress. But the hijackers held onto other high-profile passengers, hoping to force the Nigerian government’s hand.
1. Justice for Dele Giwa, the Newswatch editor killed by a parcel bomb in 1986.
2. An official investigation into the crash of a Nigerian Air Force C-130 aircraft in 1992 that killed over 150 military officers.
3. A full explanation of the annulment of the June 12 elections.
4. The exposure and prosecution of those responsible for the annulment.
5. The official recognition of MKO Abiola as the legitimate President of Nigeria.
They gave a 72-hour deadline, after which they threatened to burn the plane with all remaining passengers on board.
While the hijack played out in Niger, Jerry Yusuf, a little-known cocoa trader and former Germany-based activist, had already introduced himself to the Nigerian press as the founder of MAD. Just a week earlier, he had walked into the offices of The Nigerian Tribune and spoke passionately about restoring democracy, spiritual visions, and his willingness to die for Nigeria.
The interview was published days before the hijack, effectively tying him to the incident. Nigerian authorities began hunting him immediately.
In the dead of night on October 28, 1993, as the 72-hour deadline expired, Nigerien special forces launched a commando-style assault on the aircraft. A brief but intense gunfight ensued.
Richard Ogunderu was shot in the leg but survived.
Ethelbert Nwanze Igwe, a 35-year-old assistant purser on the flight, was not so lucky. He was killed in the crossfire, the only fatality of the hijacking.
The four hijackers and Jerry Yusuf who had been arrested and extradited to Niger were imprisoned in Niger. Yusuf was released in 2000, and the rest of the group walked free in 2002 after nearly a decade behind bars.
Upon their return to Nigeria, the hijackers found a country still spinning in political instability. MKO Abiola had been imprisoned in 1994 after declaring himself President in a bold speech delivered in the Epetedo area of Lagos. He died mysteriously in detention on July 7, 1998, just weeks after General Sani Abacha, the military strongman who overthrew Shonekan, also died suddenly.
At a press appearance after his release, Ogunderu explained why he joined the hijack plot:
“I wanted to leave Nigeria for greener pastures. But then I met Jerry Yusuf, and I realized I couldn’t run from this country’s problems forever.”
He believed the only meaningful way to fix Nigeria was to stand and fight, not flee.
Today, the 1993 plane hijack remains a largely forgotten episode in Nigeria’s long, turbulent struggle for democracy. Overshadowed by the drama of Abiola’s arrest and death, buried under the military boot of Sani Abacha, and erased by the passage of time, the story of MAD is barely remembered.
Even MKO Abiola distanced himself from the hijack, condemning it as misguided. Many activists labelled it reckless. And with the death of an innocent airline staff, the moral ground of the action was heavily debated.
Yet, the hijackers never intended to kill. They said so themselves. What they wanted, desperately was for Nigeria to listen.
A youthful cry, echoing through a country that was no longer listening.
The Federal Government has announced the death of Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Algeria, Mohammed Mahmud Lele, who died at the age of 50.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by its spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa.
According to the ministry, Lele died in the early hours of April 19, 2026, in Ankara, Türkiye, after a protracted illness.
The ministry described the late diplomat as a dedicated officer who served the country with distinction.
“The late Ambassador Lele, until his death after a protracted illness, was the Director in charge of the Middle East and Gulf Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Ambassador Lele, a career diplomat, was recently appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Ambassador-designate to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, following the Nigerian Senate’s confirmation of his nomination,” the statement said.
Born in Gamawa, Bauchi State, in 1976, Lele studied Economics at Bayero University, Kano, and went on to serve in Nigerian missions in Berlin, Lomé and Riyadh.
“Ambassador Lele was known for his intellectual depth, strategic insight and commitment to the advancement of Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives,” the statement added.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dunoma Umar Ahmed, who received the remains of the late diplomat at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, described him as “a hardworking, humble and fine officer, who will be sorely missed by the ministry.”
The ministry added that his death “is a monumental loss not only to his immediate family but also to the entire Foreign Service community and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Lele was buried on Wednesday in Kano in accordance with Islamic rites.
The ministry extended condolences to his family, associates, and the government and people of Bauchi State, praying for the peaceful repose of his soul and strength for those he left behind.
Comedian Kevin Chinedu, popularly known as Kevinblak, has revealed that officials of a political party offered him dollars to change his satirical skits criticising politicians and governance.
He made the disclosure on Monday in an interview on ARISEtv’s Arise 360 programme, where he spoke about the pressures facing content creators who hold public officials accountable through humour.
Chinedu, known for his character Governor Amuneke, said the approach came at a particularly vulnerable moment, shortly after his wife had a Caesarean section and he was under financial strain.
“They said they were going to change my life, that I’m earning crumbs, you know, give me dollars. They mentioned that my colleagues are in the game and all of that,” he said.
He declined to name the party, saying only that it was “Amuneke’s party”, a reference to the fictional political figure in his skits, and cautioned against any attempt to identify it publicly.
“Don’t mention names, trust me, don’t mention names,” he said.
Despite the financial pressure, the comedian said he turned down the offer, recalling how the officials had tried to lure him to Abuja with the promise of a life-changing sum.
“I had a lot of bills on my head and I just heard come, come to Abuja, let’s change your life. Dollars upon dollars,” he said.
He said he ultimately held firm, guided by a personal code he had maintained throughout his career.
“I looked at it, I said, no, I am who I am. I’ve been here for a long time, and I’ve never been in any illegal thing, and I’ve never been somewhere, you know, I’m doing something because I’m being influenced, because of money.
“If I want to do it, it should be something I’m doing because I want to do it. So, you know, it is what it is,” he said.
When asked whether friends had urged him to accept the money, Chinedu said his inner circle was equally principled, and had themselves been approached and refused.
“I don’t have friends that are easily overwhelmed with money. I have people who have principles because they have, you know, approached them, they themselves. So, we always have that conversation,” he said.
Nigeria’s already fragile healthcare system is facing renewed strain as no fewer than 4,691 doctors have relocated to the United Kingdom since President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, fresh data from the General Medical Council shows.
The UK GMC is a public official register detailing the number of practising doctors in the UK alongside other details such as their areas of speciality, country of training, among others.
The mass migration represents not just a human resource crisis but a significant economic loss.
With the Federal Government estimating that it costs about $21,000 to train a single doctor, Nigeria has effectively lost at least $98.5m in training investments within less than two years.
The figure put the total number of Nigeria-trained doctors currently practising in the UK to about 15,692, making Nigeria one of the largest sources of foreign-trained doctors in Britain, second only to India.
As of May 28, 2025, official records showed that the number of Nigerian-trained doctors in the UK was a little over 11,000. The figure has grown significantly since then.
The exodus of doctors comes as Nigeria’s doctor-to-population ratio hovers around 3.9 per 10,000 people, far below the minimum threshold recommended by the World Health Organisation.
For many health experts, the numbers confirm what has long been visible: a system gradually losing its most critical workforce.
The Nigerian Medical Association has repeatedly warned that poor remuneration, unsafe working conditions, and inadequate infrastructure are pushing doctors out of the country.
“Our members are overworked, underpaid and exposed to unsafe environments daily. Many are simply burnt out,” the NMA said in one of its recent statements addressing workforce migration.
Similarly, the National Association of Resident Doctors has consistently highlighted the toll on younger doctors, who form the backbone of Nigeria’s tertiary healthcare system.
“Doctors are leaving because the system is failing them—irregular salaries, excessive workload, and lack of training opportunities,” NARD noted during one of its nationwide engagements.
Ironically, the doctor exodus persists even as Nigeria continues to spend heavily on healthcare abroad.
While official foreign exchange data shows only modest spending on medical tourism in recent years, broader estimates suggest Nigerians still spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually seeking treatment overseas.
For instance, a recent report by The PUNCH revealed that foreign exchange outflow for health-related travel by Nigerians surged to $549.29m in the first nine months of 2025, a 17.96 per cent increase from $465.67m in the same period of 2024, according to official data by Nigeria’s apex bank.
A public health expert, Dr David Adewole, noted that the Federal Government’s national policy on health workforce migration, aimed at curbing the growing trend of health professionals leaving the country—commonly referred to as ‘Japa’—is a good initiative, but may not do much to address the fundamental problems of the shortage of skilled healthcare professionals in Nigeria, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
According to him, many of the push factors for health professionals emigrating to greener pastures, like insecurity, emolument and lack of basic amenities like potable water, health facilities, cost of living and constant electricity, persisted.
He stated: “To make healthcare workers stay here, let the salaries be enough so that what you earn will be much more than the multiples of what you need for basic needs, like food, power supply, housing, and so forth.
“People still look at life after retirement. You might have a good policy, but its implementation is the issue. For example, you are retired, and for your retirement package, you don’t need to know anyone for it to be processed promptly.
“Then subsequently, your monthly pension, without pressing anybody, should be paid. Those things are not here.
“And when you go to the hospital abroad, if you tell them that you are in a hurry, you go to your home; they’ll bring the medicines to your doorstep.”
