₦airaland Forum

mightyhaze:
All yorobbas... The to be beneficiary Yoruba


But No Nigerian at that time including the igbos read any ethnic undertone to it.. An experienced Igbo crew member even paid the supreme price


Or was this not an attempted forceful takeover?


Let the names be changed to Igbo names now...let just one or two names be changed to Igbo,s far the beneficiary is Igbo,Lagos Ibadan would have been abuzz with Igbo coup narrative.


How these people manage to turn every narrative against a particular tribe but turn blind eyes to theirs should be a study.. one is even puffing chest above ..how his people are at 'forefront of democracy' by hijacking planes Taliban style and threatening nearly 200 people with violent death

essentialone:
You have raised a very significant question. If Abiola was an Igbo man, would these 4 Yoruba boys had hijacked a plane?

ihitenansa:
Hmmm

Pentagon007:
Nothing has changed up till now. Same problems the youths protested for

essentialone:
THE TRUE STORY OF HIJACK '93: WHY 4 YOUNG MEN HIJACKED A NIGERIAN PLANE IN 1993 – AND WHERE THEY ARE NOW

Netflix's ‘Hijack ‘93’ tells the story of 4 young men who hijacked a plane in 1993 in protest of their government.

Netflix’s Hijack ‘93 fictionalizes the gripping true story of 4 young adults who hijacked a plane to protest their government’s actions.

On Oct. 25, 1993, Richard Ogunderu, Kabir Adenuga, Benneth Oluwadaisi and Kenny Rasaq-Lawal boarded a Nigeria Airways flight from Lagos to Abuja with a mission: to demand the restoration of democracy in Nigeria. Over the course of three days, they held over 100 passengers and crew members hostage while they made demands to the government.

The hijacking ended with their arrest following a military raid, leading them to serve over nine years in prison. More than three decades later, they have become the inspiration behind Netflix’s movie adaptation, Hijack '93, directed by Robert Peters and released in October 2024. As for being the subject of a movie, Adenuga told The Nollywood Reporter in September 2023 that “it is a great initiative.” “The movie would go a long way in educating the youth of today,” he said. “This is a part of our history. I want them to be inspired in continuing to fight for a better nation.”

But, why did these 4 young men hijack a plane in 1993?

Here is everything to know about the Nigerian Airways hijack and where the co-conspirators are today.

What happened during the 1993 Nigerian Airways hijack?

In October 1993, the Associated Press reported that a Nigerian Airways flight carrying between 135 and 137 passengers, including government officials, had been hijacked by 4 men, per Neusroom. The hijackers initially aimed to land in Frankfurt, Germany, but low fuel forced them to land in Niger, where the Nigerian military prevented another take-off.

The hijackers held passengers and crew hostage, threatening to set the Airbus A310 on fire within 72 hours unless their demands were met – which included the resignation of Nigeria's military-backed government.

Ogunderu told The Nollywood Reporter in July 2023 that the demands were outlined on flyers he brought on board, including additional asks such as the government returning allegedly embezzled money to the state and the reopening of a closed newspaper company and universities.

The hijackers released 129 hostages before the Nigerian Army and Air Force stormed the plane, capturing the hijackers and rescuing the remaining passengers and crew members, as reported by The New York Times. However, they also reported that one crew member was killed, and 4 or five others were wounded during the operation.

Who were the 4 men responsible for the 1993 Nigerian Airways hijack?

The 4 young men responsible for the 1993 Nigerian Airways hijack were Richard Ogunderu, 19, and Kabir Adenuga, Benneth Oluwadaisi and Kenny Rasaq-Lawal, who were all in their early 20s.

At the time, Ogunderu dreamed of becoming a marine engineer and had plans to further his education in Canada before he became involved in the hijacking through his association with Jerry Yusuf, founder of the Movement for the Advancement of Democracy (MAD), as he shared with The Nollywood Reporter in July 2023.

In October 2024, Ogunderu’s father, Yemi, told Punch that he had no knowledge of his son’s plan to hijack a plane. He had shared with Neusroom in June 2022 that he did not even know Ogunderu had become a member of MAD, and finding out about the incident was his “rudest shock.” “Imagine a young man of 19 without prior military training, now giving to violence,” Yemi said. “It was like the entire world was collapsing on me.”

Yemi continued that his son often tried to engage him in conversations about national issues, sometimes teasing his father’s generation for their perceived inaction. “He would tell me ‘You old men just sat there bemoaning your fate, will not you do something about this country?’” his father added.

Although Yemi said he had never met the other conspirators, he shared that his son told him they became involved with one another over a common interest about the country’s political state, as they “felt a sense of duty to do something.”

Why did they hijack the plane?

Ogunderu told The Nollywood Reporter that he and the three others were “fighting in the name of democracy” when they hijacked the plane.
The hijacking followed the annulment of Nigeria's June 12, 1993, presidential election. Although Moshood Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) led his opponent Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC), military ruler Ibrahim Babangida annulled the results, sparking widespread outrage and unrest across Nigeria, per Neusroom.

In a November 2020 interview with the Nigerian Tribune, Ogunderu alleged that the plan was conceived by Yusuf, who gathered the men and proposed the hijack after reading about a similar incident involving a toy gun. Yusuf allegedly suggested they could “do the same here.” “What actually touched me was the objective: that we wanted to reclaim the stolen mandate, freely given to Chief M.K.O Abiola, by the Nigerian people,” Ogunderu said. “I just believed somebody just had to go and demand that the democratic rights of the people be respected.”

Where are the 4 men who hijacked the 1993 Nigerian Airways flight now?

The end titles of Hijack ‘93 reveal that all 4 hijackers were arrested, tried and convicted in Niger, but they have all since completed their sentences.

Adenuga told The Nollywood Reporter in September 2023 that life in prison was “very terrible,” adding that he had to make money from his skills to feed himself and the other hijackers he was imprisoned with.

However, Ogunderu told The Nollywood Reporter in July 2023 that his time in prison was neither particularly good nor bad: “It was just liveable.” He explained that he made friends, dedicated himself to Christianity, became a preacher and learned basic French to interact with the close-knit community around him.

Yemi told Neusroom that his son, who spent over nine years in prison, became a well-known figure in Niger for organizing educational tutorials for inmates. “He established an education programme in the prison, which reduced crime rates. When he was released, the Niger people did not want him to return to Nigeria,” Yemi said.

In November 2020, Ogunderu told the Nigerian Tribune that he had been working to educate young people about democracy and political engagement through his initiative, the African Youth Organisation.

When asked if had any regrets, Ogunderu said, “I do not have any regrets taking that action. The only regrets I would have had would have been if I had died, without seeing this democracy that we clamoured for.”

He told The Nollywood Reporter in July 2023 that he met his fiancée, Maria Marello, while studying at Alliance Française in Yaba. He also studied French at the Nigeria French Language Village and attended the Government Science School in Kuru and Grammar School in Ilaje.
Regarding his current life, Ogunderu said, “I am quite happy. I believe we will achieve democracy in its full maturation.”

Meanwhile, Adenuga told The Nollywood Reporter in September 2023 that following his release from prison in 2001, he struggled with what he had done. “It was not easy, but God did not kill us, since we were convicted of the sacredness of what we did,” he said.

Little is known about Kenny and Benneth today, but Adenuga told The Nollywood Reporter that they had been communicating on and off on Facebook until he deleted his accounts and lost touch. “I still miss them,” he said.

How accurate is the Netflix movie Hijack ‘93?

The Netflix adaptation Hijack ‘93 is based on the real events of the 1993 hijacking of a Nigerian Airways flight. Like the real events, top government officials were on the flight, and the hijackers held the crew and passengers, hostage to protest the military rule in their country and support the Movement for the Advancement of Democracy.

However, although it follows the same story line, director Peters fictionalized aspects to enhance the narrative, including additional onboard drama (nobody went into labour on the real hijacked plane), altered names for the hijackers and deepened backstories.

Another change is that while the film sees the hijackers smuggle weapons on board secretly through a crew member, in real life, the gun the hijackers used to enter the cockpit was a toy gun, as Ogunderu’s father told Punch in October 2024.

In a final twist of fate, the movie sees the hijackers release women and children and eventually surrender, provided their demands are fulfilled. But in actuality, although they had released many of the hostages over the three days, the hijackers never surrendered and were arrested after a military raid on the aircraft.

essentialone:
1993 NIGERIAN AIRWAYS HIJACK

On Monday, 25th October, 1993, a Nigerian Airways Airbus A310 flight, from Lagos to Abuja, was hijacked by 4 teenagers, aged between 16 and 18.

The Names of the 4 Hijackers are:

1) Benneth Oluwadaisi
2) Kabir Adenuga
3) Kenny Rasaq-Lawal
4) Richard Ogunderu

The 4 of them boarded the flight initially planned to fly from Lagos to Abuja, containing top government officials, including Rong Yiren, the Vice President of China, and Nigerian government officials.

The 4 hijackers had planned to divert the aircraft to Frankfurt, Germany. However, the plane needed to stopover for refuelling in Niamey, Niger Republic. When the flight landed at the Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, the 4 hijackers announced that the flight had been taken over by "Movement for the Advancement of Democracy in Nigeria".

The 4 hijackers demanded that the Nigerian military-backed interim government resign and name Moshood Abiola as the president. The 4 hijackers said they would set the Airbus 310 on fire in 72 hours if this demand was not met.

After two hours of negotiations, they freed 129 people, including Rong Yiren, from the plane and held back the crew and Nigerian government officials.

The 4 hijackers said they would set the Airbus 310 on fire in 72 hours unless Nigerian authorities agreed to their demands, which at first included the resignation of the military-backed government.

After 4 days, the gendarmes invaded the plane and arrested the 4 hijackers. The rescue operation killed crew member Ethel Igwe, while Richard was also injured.

Aftermath: The 4 hijackers spent 9 years and 4 months in Niger prison. Shortly after the hijack, Ernest Shonekan's interim government was replaced by General Sani Abacha's government.

Dramatization: In October 2024, the 1993 Nigerian Airways hijack, was depicted in the Netflix film, Hijack '93.

What are your thoughts about this particular event that happened in Nigeria, 32 years ago?

essentialone:
HIJACK '93 TRUE STORY: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED DURING THE NIGERIAN AIRWAYS FLIGHT

Hijack ‘93 is a tense movie that focuses on four desperate teens named Omar (Nnamdi Agbo), Ben (Allison Emmanuel), Dayo (Akinsola Oluwaseyi), and Kayode (Adam Garba), who hijack a Nigerian Airways flight as an act of protest and activism, raising questions about what really happened in the true story. The story follows the few-day standoff between four teenagers who hijacked an Airbus 310 and the military trying to get the hostages out alive.

Despite the fascinating core message, Netflix’s political thriller movie has low ratings and reviews due to the lack of character development, the uneven pacing, and the subpar acting. However, the best part of the Hijack ‘93 is the core storyline, which pulls from a largely unknown event in history – a real-life hijacking that occurred in Nigeria in 1993: Four Young Men Hijacked a Nigerian Airways Flight on October 25, 1993. The Men Took Over an Airbus 310 Shortly Before It Was Supposed to Land.

In Hijack '93, Omar, Ben, Dayo, and Kayode have tragic, compelling backgrounds that bring more attention to the terrible living conditions under the military-ruled government. The experiences and names of the characters in the Netflix thriller are fictional, but the real-life young men involved in the hijacking are just as sympathetic. On October 25, 1993, Richard Ogunderu, Kabir Adenuga, Benneth Oluwadaisi, and Kenny Rasaq-Lawal boarded a Nigerian Airways flight from Lagos to Abuja with the intent of hijacking the plane and taking it to Germany to get international attention.

They had planned the hijacking allegedly with the help of Jerry Yusuf. Prior to the historical event, Adenuga says they rehearsed the hijacking and surveilled the airlines (via The Nollywood Reporter). Like many Netflix movies based on a true story, Hijack '93 makes significant changes to the story that help add tension to the film. Though the movie shows the teens using a real gun planted by a flight attendant, the actual hijackers carried a plastic gun. Kabir Adenuga’s interview with The Nollywood Reporter revealed that they also brought tear gas, petrol, and lighters.

The flight had 159 passengers, including members of the Nigerian government, the military, and the Chinese vice president. The hijackers specifically chose the flight, knowing that influential individuals would be onboard. As shown in Hijack 93’, the hijacking lasted three days total, during which the teenagers were negotiating over the radio with individuals who had the power to implement their demands. Because they did not have enough fuel to make it to Germany, they stopped in Niamey, Niger. Though the military prevented them from refuelling and taking to the air again, they continued to make demands and hold the passengers, hostage from the ground.

Why The Young Men Hijacked the Nigerian Flight.

The Young Men Wanted Democracy in Nigeria. The shocking act of radical activism was a bold, controversial move in order to make political changes. During the ‘80s and ‘90s, Nigeria’s government was known for its instability and tyranny. In 1983, the Nigerian military overthrew the democratically elected president. After a decade of a military dictatorship, citizens got the chance to vote for a new leader in 1993 thanks to the efforts of the democracy movement. Rather than instating Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, the elected leader, the government ignored the results, putting the military back in power.

Since the events of Hijack ‘93, Richard Ogunderu, one of the four young men involved in the incident, has confirmed that the hijacking was planned by M.A.D. leader Jerry Yusuf and intended to force the Nigerian government to implement and enforce democracy. In 2023, Ogunderu told The Nollywood Reporter this about their goal: “We were fighting in the name of democracy, just as our party alludes, and the winner of the Jun 12 presidential election could have been anybody, and we would still have done what we did. Democracy is about the will of the people, and it does not matter if you know or like the person in the seas of power so long as the majority of people wishes it.”
The group’s most significant demand was that the Nigerian government put Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola in control in accordance with the June 12, 1993 election. Interestingly, according to an article published in The New York Times on October 26, 1993, Mr. Abiola spoke out against the hijacking. However, their demands were not limited to this major goal.

According to Ogunderu, they also wanted Nigeria to reopen the closed newspapers and colleges. M.A.D. also wanted an investigation into the death of Dele Giwa, a Nigerian journalist and the co-founder of Newswatch magazine. He died on October 19, 1986 by a letter bomb. Additionally, they wanted the return of the money that the Nigerian government embezzled. Like in the Netflix action movie, they wanted international attention for their cause. Ultimately, if the demands were not met, the four young men threatened to light the plane on fire in 72 hours if they did not comply with the demands.

The Nigerian Young Men Were Arrested Four Days After the Hijacking

Most Of the Hostages Were Off the Plane When the Arrest Happened. Of the 159 passengers, only 20 passengers and three crew members were still onboard the plane after the first two days. The young men let the others out. During their negotiations, the hijackers demanded that the police send food and water to the plane for themselves and the remaining passengers and crew. As expected, the individuals bringing food and water to the plane around midnight were a trap. Kabir Adenuga outlines what happened next in his interview with The Nollywood Reporter.

Ultimately, the president of France, who controlled Niger, denied extradition, placing all four men in a Niger prison.

Adenuga explains that the individuals approaching the plane started shooting, and Ogunderu tried to get all the passengers on the floor, wanting to prevent deaths. He was shot, and Adenuga was slammed onto the floor, causing him to go unconscious for many hours. They were detained, separated, and interrogated. The officers denied Nigerian delegates access to the hijackers. Adenuga alleges that the detaining officers planned to kill them. Ultimately, the president of France, who controlled Niger, denied extradition, placing all four men in a Niger prison.

What Happened to The Nigerian Hijackers & Passengers?

The Four Hijackers Went to Prison After Getting Arrested. Luckily, almost all the passengers on the Nigerian Airways flight were released before the gunfire started. Sadly, a crew member named Ethel Igwe was shot and killed in the chaos. After the four hijackers were arrested, all four individuals were placed in Niamey Prison in the Niger capital.

Yemi Ogunderu told Punch that he was arrested and detained for 70 days at Bonny Camp and, later, Alagbon Close on the belief that he knew about or was involved in his son Richard's crime.

According to Yemi Ogunderu, Richard Ogunderu’s father, the hijackers were incarcerated for years as political detainees in the Republic of Niger without ever going through a trial (via Punch). Eventually, they were charged through a court case as a formality to prevent backlash for keeping them detained for so long. The trial only occurred months before their release in 2001.

Ultimately, the group stayed in jail for 9 years as explained at the end of Hijack ‘93. According to Adenuga’s interview, while in jail, he learned skills to make money so he could survive. He melted down coins to make and sell jewellery. He also cut incarcerated individuals’ hair.

Meanwhile, a People article explains that Richard Ogunderu started preaching Christianity, founded an educational program, and started the African Youth Organization. Not much is known about Benneth Oluwadaisi, or Kenny Rasaq-Lawal, after they were arrested.

AlphaTaikun:
Bump.