Wife and children of Deji Falae, the late Ondo State Commissioner for
Culture and Tourism, have urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to hold that
Associated Aviation
Nigeria Ltd and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)
caused his death in an air crash through negligence.
Deji, son of a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Olu
Falae, was one of the four officials of the Ondo State government that died in
a plane crash on October 3, 2013.
The plane was transporting the remains of former Ondo State governor,
Olusegun Agagu, to Ondo from Lagos when it crashed at the Lagos airport shortly
after takeoff. Fourteen of the 20 people on the plane, including Deji, died in
the crash.
The late Falae’s wife, Ese, and three teenage children are claiming
damages from the defendants for alleged negligence. They are claiming $100,000
as general damages and N219,906,250, which the deceased would have earned in 15
years as a lawyer, commissioner and owner of a construction firm, had he not
died.
The late Falae’s family sought, in the alternative, N108,527,750,
£160,740 and $19,000 as special damages for alleged breaches of the defendants’
respective duties under the Civil Aviation Act, 2006, Fatal Accident Act, 1846,
and Fatal Accident Law of Lagos State.
They also prayed for N5 million as cost of filing the suit and legal
fees, and 10 per cent interest on the post-judgment sum.
The family claimed that Associated Aviation, which operated the chartered
aircraft, breached Section 74 of the Civil Aviation Act by failing to procure a
legally binding insurance policy covering its liabilities, including
compensation for damages that may be sustained by third parties.
They also want the court to hold that the company breached statutory
duties imposed by Section 55 of the Act when its aircraft, at about 9.32am, a
minute after take-off, crash, just outside the aerodrome.
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