Shehu Sani shares story of 4 teenagers who hijacked a Nigerian airways plane in protest of June 12

Though the iconic June 12/Democracy Day celebrations have come and gone, stories surrounding what has now come to be regarded as a pivotal period in Nigeria’s democratic history are still making the rounds on social media.

In case you do not know, on the 12th of June 1993, the flag bearer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (MKO) was declared the winner of what is widely believed to be the freest and fairest presidential election in Nigerian history.

Abiola (left) and his running mate, Babagana Kingibe celebrating their victory in 1993

After the ballots were cast and the votes counted, MKO was adjudged to have defeated his closest rival, Alhaji Bashiru Tofa of the Nigerian Republican Congress (NRC) by a landslide victory.

However, Abiola’s victory was short-lived as the then military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida annulled the elections for inexplicable reasons.

What followed afterward has been described by many political analysts and prominent Nigerians as perhaps the darkest moments in the country’s labored democracy.

During this year’s June 12 celebrations, some remarkable stories have been shared on some of the actions taken by some brave Nigerians who stood up to the military junta in protest of the annulment.

For example, some hours ago, Senator Shehu Sani took to his Facebook page to share a shocking story of how four teenagers hijacked a Nigerian Airways flight and diverted to another country in protest of the annulment of the June 12 elections.

According to the story, on the 25th of October 1993, a fully loaded Nigerian Airways passenger plane was on its way to Abuja from Lagos when it was hijacked by four dissatisfied teenagers and diverted to a neighboring country, Niger Republic.

The four young men, Richard Ogunderu (19), Benneth Oluwadaisi (20), Kenny Rasaq Lawal (19), and Kabir Adenuga (18), were all students of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) at the time.

It was said that the teenagers had boarded the flight like normal passengers, and waited until when the plane was about to land before hijacking it.

When queried by the pilot on what they hoped to achieve by hijacking the plane, the teenagers had stated that they wanted to draw the attention of the entire world to the tyrannical annulment of the June 12 elections, which was by extension, an annulment of the mandate of the Nigerian people.

After landing the plane in the capital city of Niamey, Niger Republic, what ensued can only be described as a scene from a Hollywood movie.

Needless to say, the boys were eventually arrested after 3 days of hostage negotiations between them and the governments of Nigeria and the Niger Republic.

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According to Senator Sani, the four teenagers went on to spend 9 years in prison for the daring crime they pulled off.

For a blow-by-blow account of how the incident happened, click here.