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How Aircraft model carrying Wigwe, wife, son crashed five times in 2023

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Late Wigwe and his wife
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The aircraft model – Eurocopter EC 130B4 – which crashed last week and claimed the lives of Herbert Wigwe, his wife, son and three others, suffered five crashes in 2023.

It was reported that Wigwe, the Chief Executive of Access Holdings Plc died following a chopper crash on Friday, February 9, in California, United States.

His wife, Chizoba, and son also died in the helicopter crash from the same aircraft model.

The history of the Eurocopter EC 130 can be traced to several fatal accidents in the past.

Manufactured by Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter), the single-engine aircraft and its variations have a long history of accidents.

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Timeline:

A similar crash occurred on December 1, 2023, involving the same Eurocopter EC 130B4, which struck power cables during takeoff and crashed into a ball of flames near Ex Hacienda el Hospital, Cuautla, Morelos in Mexico. Three people died in the accident, and it was the last of 11 crashes involving Airbus models in 2023.

The same aircraft model crashed in the Grand Canyon in 2018 and claimed the lives of five people.

The 2018 crash involving another Eurocopter EC 130B4 killed five people, all of them Britons, in the Grand Canyon.

Two brothers, Stuart and Jason Hill, 30 and 32, were among the dead. Stuart Hill’s girlfriend Becky Dobson was also killed in the crash. The three were pronounced dead at the scene.

Husband and wife Jonathan and Ellie Udall were also victims of the deadly crash. They both died of complications from burns days later.

The pilot Scott Booth and Jason Hill’s girlfriend Jennifer Dorricott survived. But both sustained life-altering injuries.

The aircraft burst into flames after crashing. The pilot told American investigators that the helicopter encountered a “violent gust of wind” and started spinning.

In January 2023, two EC130B4s operated by Sea World Helicopters collided in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, killing four people and injuring eight.

Following these accidents, it is now required all helicopter fuel tanks be shielded from fuel tank rupture on impact.

Since 1975, 100 crashes involving the aircraft and previous models manufactured by Airbus Helicopters SAS have been recorded.

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Police parade Doctors, others over alleged Organ Trafficking in Nasarawa

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The Nigeria Police Force has paraded four suspects, including two nephrologists, over an alleged organ-harvesting syndicate in Nasarawa State.

According to the police briefing reported by Channels Television, the suspects allegedly targeted vulnerable young men, luring them into kidney donations and paying them far less than the alleged value of the organs.

Police said one victim was allegedly paid about $1,250, while another reportedly received N7 million after his kidney was removed.

Investigators also alleged that forged documents, including birth certificates, affidavits, consent letters and identification documents, were used to facilitate the procedures and conceal the identities of some victims.

One alleged victim recounted during the briefing how he was deceived into donating his kidney.

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A representative of Wellington Clinic, where some of the procedures allegedly took place, also addressed the media, claiming that the hospital only provided the platform for the surgeries and was unaware of the alleged illegal activities involving changes to donors’ identities.

The police said investigations are ongoing as they work to identify and apprehend other members of the alleged syndicate.

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How doctors unlawfully removed kidneys of over 10 youths — VDM’s Lawyer reveals

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The lawyer to social media influencer VeryDarkMan, Marshall Abubakar, has alleged that vulnerable young Nigerians are being lured into illegal kidney harvesting schemes by medical practitioners and their agents under the guise of medical procedures.

According to Abubakar, more than 10 young Nigerians may have fallen victim to an alleged illegal kidney harvesting network involving medical practitioners and their agents.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Friday, Abubakar said the case came to light after a young man approached the Martin Luther King Centre, headed by VeryDarkMan, with a medical report indicating that his left kidney was missing.

He said the centre independently verified the report at two hospitals in Abuja, including a government medical facility in Jabi, where the absence of the young man’s left kidney was reportedly confirmed.

He said the young man was allegedly given about $1,300 after the procedure, while his identity was changed and an affidavit obtained in another name in an attempt to conceal the circumstances surrounding the operation.

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Abubakar further alleged that other youths had been similarly targeted around Masaka, Nyanya and Mararaba, with some allegedly recruited through agents.

He claimed that kidneys harvested from some victims were subsequently sold for between ₦50 million and ₦70 million, while the donors received only a fraction of the proceeds.

Abubakar described the alleged practice as a criminal enterprise, stressing that lawful organ donation requires informed consent and must not involve financial inducement.

He also alleged that the families of the affected youths were not informed before the procedures and only became aware after the cases emerged. (Channels)

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Gunmen kill APC chairman in Kogi, abduct another

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Gunmen have killed the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, Hon. Ishaq Yunusa, and abducted another occupant of his vehicle.

The incident occurred on Thursday along the Itobe-Ochadamu Expressway, around Ojuwo Olijo in Ofu Local Government Area of the state.

The Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Afusat Saliu, confirmed the incident in a statement made available to journalists in Lokoja on Friday.

Saliu said the attack occurred at about 5pm when armed assailants emerged from the surrounding bush and opened fire on motorists.

She said a blue Toyota Corolla, with registration number GWA 636 CH, was subsequently found abandoned along the highway.

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“The driver, identified as Hon. Ishaq Yunusa, was found dead in the vehicle, while another occupant was taken into the bush by the assailants,” the statement said.

The police spokesperson said the command, in collaboration with other security agencies, had intensified operations in the area, with personnel combing the surrounding forest to locate and rescue the abducted victim and apprehend the assailants.

She said the deceased had been evacuated to Grimard Hospital, Anyigba, for autopsy, while the command was pursuing all available leads in connection with the incident.

The Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Command, CP Naziru Bello Kankarofi, directed sustained security operations along the affected corridor and ordered efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The command urged motorists and residents along the route to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious movements to the police or other security agencies.

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