Mariam Adebukola 
Olawale Rasheed, the spokesperson for the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has confirmed that the aircraft conveying the governor and some of his aides, was narrowly averted on Sunday while adding that two of the aircraft’s engines might have been tampered with.
According to the reports, an aircraft carrying Adeleke and some of his aides nearly crashed on September 5, while attempting to take off from Lagos for a journey to Abuja on his elder brother Deji Adeleke’s private jet.
Speaking on the development on Sunday, September 17, Rasheed confirmed the story, adding that early reports from the internal investigation indicated sabotage.
Rasheed also said the aircraft was well-maintained with the best technical crew and was never an unused platform where birds could build nests.
The pilot, however, had to call it off after discovering a fault in the engine a minute just as it began taxing.
Contrary to the initial report suggesting that the engine exploded after taxiing, Rasheed stated that a loud noise was heard just after the aircraft had taxied on the tarmac.
Furthermore, he expressed scepticism about the explanation given by the hangar owners, which attributed the fault to a bird’s nest in the engine, Rasheed suggested that there are compelling reasons to suspect that both engines of the aircraft were tampered with.
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He said, “Contrary to the claim by the hanger owner that birds’ nests caused the incident, birds’ nests are made with straws not bidding wires as in this case.
“The near-fatal incident was averted shortly after boarding and less than two minutes after commencement of taxing on the tarmac.
“An early warning noise from the engines immediately prompted the pilots to direct evacuation of the passengers. Everything happened within five minutes.
“Early reports from the internal investigation indicated sabotage. But the authorities, locally and internationally, are still investigating the incident.
“We however want to assure the public that Governor Adeleke and his aides are safe and there was no injury or any outward explosion on the plane.
“The Governor expressed his deep appreciation to well-wishers and supporters who have been calling since the report of the incident. Mr Governor is hale and hearty.”
