A retired Nigerian Air Vice Marshal, Prof. Osita Obierika, tragically passed away onboard a British Airways flight bound for Abuja from London on the early hours of Monday, October 6, 2025.
The aircraft had departed London Heathrow Airport at 11 pm on Sunday, October 5, and was scheduled to land in Abuja at 5 am the following day.
According to reports, the octogenarian, who had been battling cancer and was receiving treatment in the United Kingdom and the United States, became critically ill during the flight.
The pilot declared a medical emergency around 1:30 am, leading to an unscheduled emergency landing at El Prat Airport in Barcelona, Spain, where the airline crew and medical personnel attempted to resuscitate him, but he sadly died before further medical intervention was possible.
The retired Air Vice Marshal was a respected former Air Officer Commanding Training Command at Kaduna and served as a directing staff member at the National Defence College in Abuja.
His death came as a shock to fellow senior officers and passengers, many of whom were emotionally affected by the incident. Senior Nigerian Air Force officers were reportedly waiting to receive him upon arrival in Abuja but were devastated by the news of his passing.
Eyewitnesses aboard the flight revealed that Prof. Obierika appeared frail and possibly too weak to travel, accompanied by his 79-year-old wife, who was also not in the best health.
The couple had traveled from America to London with their children, but the children departed for Abuja earlier, leaving the elderly couple to take the final leg of the journey alone.
The sudden medical emergency aboard the flight also affected other passengers; a pregnant woman aboard the flight reportedly fainted due to an asthma attack during the distress.
British Airways apologized to passengers for the disruption and arranged a replacement aircraft to continue the journey to Abuja. The new flight departed Barcelona later the same day.
Prof. Obierika was widely respected in the Nigerian Air Force and remembered as a distinguished officer of the 1973 Nigeria Defence Academy set. His passing marks a significant loss to the Nigerian military community and his family.
