The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), through its Abuja Operations Office (AOO), demonstrated its steadfast commitment to disaster preparedness and inter-agency collaboration by actively participating in a large-scale plane crash simulation exercise held near the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The simulation, codenamed *Operation Safety*, was organized by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) on July 31, 2025. It formed part of this year’s Search and Rescue Simulation Exercise (SAREX), which aims to evaluate and improve Nigeria’s coordinated response to aviation-related disasters.
Designed as an off-aerodrome emergency response drill, the exercise simulated the crash of a commercial aircraft with multiple casualties and triggered the activation of the country’s multi-agency emergency response mechanism. The simulation commenced with a stakeholder mapping session and pre-briefing, followed by a dynamic crash scenario that tested the agility, speed, and coordination of responders.
Participating agencies included:
* National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
* Nigerian Army
* Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Service
* Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC)
* Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)
* Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet)
* Air Traffic Control Units
* Airline Operators Committee
* Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC)
* Federal Fire Service
* Federal Medical Services
* Nigeria Police Force
* Department of State Services (DSS)
* Traditional leaders from host communities
In the simulation, emergency teams swiftly secured the crash site, conducted triage operations, and successfully evacuated simulated casualties to the Nigerian Air Force Base Hospital. The scenario concluded at 12:36 GMT, followed by an After-Action Review (AAR) at the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), where lessons learned and gaps in response protocols were critically examined.
Head of NEMA Abuja Operations Office, Mr. Zakari Abubakar, commended the level of coordination exhibited during the exercise but stressed the need for improvement in areas such as response enthusiasm, clarity in communication, and strict adherence to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
He noted that simulation exercises like SAREX are essential in fine-tuning Nigeria’s disaster risk management framework, especially in high-risk sectors like aviation. “It is better to sweat in training than to bleed in a real emergency. Today’s drill has shown that we are on the right path, but there is still room to raise our standards in line with global best practices,” he said.
The simulation served as a timely reminder of the importance of preparedness, swift response, and synergy among stakeholders in managing aviation emergencies. With increasing air traffic and evolving threats, exercises like this are critical in building public confidence and ensuring operational readiness in the event of a real disaster.
