- Sola Faleye, the Personal Assistant to late Access Bank Plc CEO, Herbert Wigwe, shared how he narrowly evaded the tragic helicopter crash that claimed his boss, the CEO’s family, and Abimbola Ogunbajo’s lives.
- At the Night of Tribute in Lagos, Faleye recounted opting for a road trip instead of flying with them.
Sola Faleye, Personal Assistant to the late Access Bank Plc CEO, Herbert Wigwe, shared harrowing details on how he narrowly escaped the helicopter crash that tragically claimed the lives of his boss, the CEO’s wife, son, and business associate, Abimbola Ogunbajo.
Speaking at the Night of Tribute event in Lagos, Faleye recounted how he had initially planned to travel by helicopter but ultimately changed his mind.
Instead, he chose to embark on the journey to Vegas by road, with their luggage. Meanwhile, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, son, and Ogunbajo opted to travel to the same destination via helicopter.
Faleye disclosed that he was dozing off in the car but received a strange shock immediately it was 10:09 pm and causing him to feel unease. He later found out that the crash happened by 10:08 pm.
He stated that he speedily took his phone and tried calling his boss and the others on the chopper, but none of the calls pulled through.
In his words:
“It was a sweet journey. 11 hours we flew from London. I remember in the middle of the air, I walked up to him. I said, ‘Sir, how comfortable are you at night flying choppers? I’ve never done it before. The app allocation system for flying choppers, I have never done it before,’ and he said this is America, they have a navigation system for flying choppers at night and I went back to my seat. And we landed. Everybody was filled with joy that we were finally almost there.
“We sat, waiting to be cleared by immigration, So coming out, we had two vans waiting, One was taking us to go aboard the chopper. The other one took our luggage because they could not go on the chopper. Throughout my years of working with him, I’ve always told myself that flying that way is not a luxury for me. I am on duty. And as they were loading the luggage. And this thought came to mind. That’s OK, you fly chopper one. One hour you are there.
“The next three and half hours, the luggage will not come. Will I go to bed? No. I still have to sit down and wait for those luggage to come. I’m like, so why not just go with the luggage then, get there and deliver it to him and others in the room. Like I said, I always reason in the line of duty.
“And I walked up to him. I said, ‘Sir, I think it’s safer and secure for me to just ride and bring the luggage to you.’ He said it was a brilliant idea. And I said, safe flight.”
Watch the video below:
VIDEO: Wigwe’s PA Recounts How Luggage Stopped Him From Joining Ill-Fated Chopper
Sola Faleye, Personal Assistant to the late Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, has recounted how he narrowly escaped the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of… pic.twitter.com/FIkNkMjadk
— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) March 6, 2024
