Bellview crash site: Built for remembrance, left to rot
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 marked exactly 20 years since a Boeing 737-200 aircraft, Flight 210 operated by Bellview Airlines crashed and killed all the 117 passengers onboard at Lisa, a community in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State. Our correspondent who was at the Lisa Memorial Arcade built in honour of the victims reports […]
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 marked exactly 20 years since a Boeing 737-200 aircraft, Flight 210 operated by Bellview Airlines crashed and killed all the 117 passengers onboard at Lisa, a community in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State. Our correspondent who was at the Lisa Memorial Arcade built in honour of the victims reports that the national monument now battles in ruins.
It was a regular day flight when the airline took off from Lagos en route Abuja at exactly 7:30pm on Saturday, October 22, 2005. The controller instructed the crew to contact Lagos Approach Control as the flight sounded and appeared normal. The pilot, Captain Imasuen Lambert, made an initial contact with Lagos Approach Control, and at 07:32pm replied to the controller’s instruction.
That was the last known transmission from the flight. The controller tried to regain contact with Flight 210 but failed; as a result, it was declared missing.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was notified for a search-and-rescue operation. Helicopters were deployed to the site where contact with Flight 210 was last made, but search and rescue personnel were not able to pick up signals from the aircraft’s ELT.
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Conflicting reports began to emerge, with suggestions that the aircraft’s wreckage was reportedly found in Kisi, the northern part of Oyo State.
Facts later emerged that the aircraft nosedived and crashed at high speed a few minutes after takeoff, killing all the 117 people on board at Lisa village.
The lives of 111 passengers and six crew members – most of whom were thought to be Nigerians – were lost in the ill-fated crash, throwing the country into a monumental tragedy. The crash was the first among strings of aircraft accidents that rocked Nigeria in 2005 and 2006.
According to reports, there were at least 10 Ghanaians, two Malian-French, two Britons, two Gambians and one passenger each from Germany and South Africa. United States officials also confirmed the presence of a US military officer, Major Joseph Haydon onboard the flight. There was also a Sierra Leone citizen onboard.
Also among the passengers were a former postmaster-general of Nigeria, Argungu Abubakar; a director of Research and Documentation at the Nigerian Press Council, Mr Omang Ojang; the ECOWAS director of finance in Nigeria (a Ghanaian), Mr Emmanuel Quaye; a former managing director of the defunct Peoples Bank, Mrs Maria Sokenu; and the traditional ruler of Daddare, Obi Local Government Council of Nasarawa State, who doubled as the chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Programme on Immunisation, Usman Umar, and several others.
The tragic incident subsequently placed Lisa community on the world map as prominent personalities and families of the victims from both within and outside the country thronged the town to catch a glimpse of the crash site and pay respect to the deceased.
A year later, the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Ogun State Government jointly built the Lisa Memorial Arcade and Garden to honour the victims of the crash. The arcade served as the final resting place for the victims, with their names boldly inscribed on their tombs.
A memory left to rot
For two decades, the Bellview graveyard, the final resting place of 117 Nigerians and foreigners, lay silent and in ruins.
Except for the footpath, the arcade has been outgrown by grasses, right from the gate.
As a means of identification, an inscription on the plaque at the gate reads:
“This plague was unveiled in memory of the victims of October 22, 2005 Bellview Plane Crash by President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, President, Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, 22nd October, 2006.”
Inside the premises, our correspondent used sticks to clear his path in order to read the listed names of the victims.
The monument, which occupies 2.7 hectares of land, reeks of neglect and abandonment.
Our correspondent observed that a number of the gravestones bearing the names of the victims had already fallen off, while parts of the concrete floor leading to the centre of the arcade were already sinking.
The tombstones were built round the crash spot with walkways to allow visitors to catch a glimpse.
“At the initial stage, when they inaugurated that place in 2006, there were many schools that came there for excursions from Ogun State and far away. Individuals and the families of the victims used to come there to have prayers, especially on the anniversary day.
“Some would stay till after the anniversary; and they would come from Benue, South-South and the northern part of the country. Even some white people used to come when the road was good. But all that stopped 12 to 14 years ago. The arcade has fallen off; there is nothing there again, “the Onilisa of Lisa kingdom, Oba Najeemdeen Odugbemi, told our correspondent.
Arcade now farmland
Weekend Trust reports that the remaining expanse of land within the premises has been turned into farmland for rice, maize, cassava, plantain and other food crops.
The walkways have also been turned into spaces where farmers dry their cassava flour and other farm produce.
Our correspondent met one of the farmers, Okanlawon Muyideen, who said, “I am not the only one farming here. We don’t want it to turn into a jungle, so we are using the fertile land to farm.”
Mrs Bola Odugbemi, whose house is next to the arcade, expressed disappointment over the sorry state of the monument, saying, “The government has not shown concern over the site. The community, especially the youth, usually clear the place when it is taken over by grasses.
“Government should rehabilitate it urgently. People used to visit here, but each time they come, they will be disappointed about the condition of the monument. It calls for concern. Government can step in and turn it into a tourist site attraction,” she said.
Another resident, Prophet Okesade Oluwatosin Abiola, also known as Alagba Kerubu said, “When the incident occurred, I was not in Nigeria. I was in Ivory Coast at that time, but when I returned to Lagos, I was disappointed about the site. This is a sorry state. This is an eyesore.
“We need the government to fix it and make it attractive so that people can visit it regularly. It is a memorial site and shouldn’t be in a sorry state like this. We need a renovation of this site.”
The Atayese of Lisa, Akinsola Akinwale said, “We want the government to come around to see what they can do to turn this place into a monumental centre. It will fetch them money. It is not just about developing our community, it is a dual benefit. It develops the community and they will get benefits.”
‘It is a replica of 9/11 memorial site’
Oba Odugbemi said the arcade was a replica of the US 9/11 memorial site, and told the federal government and the Ogun State Government to reconstruct the site.
He said that when the government of Gbenga Daniel acquired 2.7 hectares of land to develop the arcade, the plan was “to build hotels, hospitals, malls and the likes so as to make it a tourist centre.”
The monarch said, “The arcade should be reconstructed because it is supposed to be like that of the United States in the 9/11 situation. I visited the United States after the 9/11 incident. They call the place Ground Zero and World Trade Centre. If you get there you would see that what the government of the State of New York has done is even more beautiful than what was there before the attack. It has become a tourist centre for those visiting America.
“Lisa is supposed to become a tourist centre in Africa. That arcade is supposed to represent the only aviation tourist centre in Africa.
“My appeal to the federal and state governments is for them to restore that arcade so that memories of the victims will continue to be with all of us who are living.”
Oba Odugbemi said the farming within the premises of the arcade had his permission.
“What they are doing is subsistence farming; it is just to keep the place clean. While farming, it is your duty to clear bushes so that it won’t outgrow the place.
“Some of the former security guards in that place sought my permission to use the premises for farming since there’s no structure on ground. They don’t plant cash crops there; they only plant food crops, which have a short lifespan.
“They are just to keep the place busy and clean so that land grabbers will not come there and start selling it to people,” he explained.
Weekend Trust recalls that to make the arcade accessible to visitors, former President Obasanjo awarded the contract for the construction of a road to the site – a 10.5kilometre road connecting Lisa and Ijoko-Ota. But it has completely collapsed, haunting both the living and the dead; and the government has not paid attention to it.
It was observed that the road, which is filled with potholes, crafters and broken bridges, has been worsened by erosion. Some vehicles and trucks loaded with sand were seen broken down along the road.
Residents of the community told Weekend Trust that the terrible condition of the road also discouraged relatives of the Bellview crash victims from further visiting the site to offer prayers for their departed loved ones, adding that the situation is killing socio economic activities in the community.
A commercial motorcyclist, Ayandokun Adesola, who has been plying the road for 19 years said, “The condition of the road has done a lot of harm to our bikes and services. We spend a lot of money repairing our bikes; and this eats into our income.”
He disclosed that they carry two passengers and charge between N2,000 and N1,600 per person for a one-way trip.
“But when it rains, it can go as high as N2,500 per person. That will be N4,000 per trip from here to Lisa. If the road was in good shape, the trip should be between N300 and N500 per person.
“I want to urge the government to help us fix the deplorable road because it has become unbearable. Residents have been relocating from this community and it has affected the number of passengers,” Adesola said.
Muyideen also told our correspondent that most times, the monarch used his personal resources to fix some portions of the road to make it passable.
It is a deathtrap, monarch laments
Oba Odugbemi told Weekend Trust that the contract for the 10.5km road was awarded under President Obasanjo but the community only enjoyed it for six months after construction.
He said, “President Olusegun Obasanjo did very well by giving a very good memorial recognition for the victims. I think it is on record that the road, which leads from Ijoko to Lisa, was awarded even at the Federal Executive Council meeting. I watched it on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) that day.
“When it was awarded, we thought the road would be constructed, but something happened. I don’t know the contractors that did it, but they did not do it well. We only enjoyed the road for six months, or at most, a year; after that, we are facing challenges.
“It is worse than what it used to be. It was tarred between 2006 and 2007. It is so bad now that if you pass there during the rainy season, it will annoy you.
“The road connects about 17 communities, towns and villages. You can see what that bad road has deprived our community. The economy of our community has gone down. We have had deaths due to the bad state of the road.”
On their plan to mark a 20-year anniversary of the incident in their community, Oba Odugbemi said, “We are planning to hold a candle night for the victims; we have all the names. We will make sure to have 117 placards on which all the names will be boldly written.
“The placards will be carried by youths in the community. We will be there on the 22nd with the families of the deceased. Adherents of all the three religions will gather there to pray for the departed souls. We can also stage some cultural displays.”
State govt responds
Efforts to get the Ogun State Government’s comment on the abandoned site proved abortive. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, did not respond to enquiry from our correspondent, ditto to the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Sesan Abolaji Fagbayi.
However, in September, 2022, former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, who is currently in charge of the Women Affairs and Social Development Ministry, Adijat Adeleye, hinted on the government’s plan to partner with the private sector in order to turn the arcade into a tourist site.
She also reportedly said the government would rehabilitate the deplorable memorial arcade built as a grave site.
She spoke during the community day celebration and the launch of the Civic Centre in Lisa town.
“As we were coming in, we had to go to the Lisa Memorial Arcade where the plane crash occurred. We have noticed some things we are going to go back and see what we can do. I believe that we can turn that place into a tourist centre; it is one of our tourist sites in Ogun state.
“We are looking forward to resuscitating the place through a Public Private Partnership arrangement. We are going to be partnering with the private sector to put that place in a befitting form where people can come for tourism.
“If we go outside the country, there are so many tourist sites that do not even have the type of history that we have in Lisa here; so, we are looking at partnering with the private sector to resuscitate the place.
“Our doors are open to people, the private sector, corporate organisations that are interested in tourism to come here and assist us, support us to make sure that we give that place a befitting look”, the commissioner had said.