DANA VICTIMS FAMILY ASKED TO PRODUCE LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION

Families of victims of the Dana air crash need to produce letters of administration from the probate registry to facilitate payment of the first 30 per cent of their compensation, the airline said on Monday.

Chief Executive Officer, Dana Airline, Mr. Jacky Hathiramani,  stated this in a statement by the airline’s spokesman, Mr. Tony Usidiamen.

Hathiramani noted that to date, letters of administration had been produced by only a small number of claimants.

According to him, the letters also need to be verified by the probate office which issued them.

He said, “Subject to verification, full compensation will be paid to those properly entitled in accordance with the law and available evidence, at the earliest opportunity.

 “The present position is that 80 advance payments of $30,000  have been processed by virtue of documents supplied, demonstrating familial links and kinship.

“Our insurers are continuing to deal with all other claims in accordance with the applicable law.”

The airline chief assured the families that as soon as the letters were received and verified by the airline, they would be paid the compensation.

Hathiramani said airline had no control over the speed with which the probate office dealt with the verification process, although maximum pressure was being exerted to expedite it.

He said the airline was following the customary procedure in order to ensure that just compensation was only paid to those entitled.

He was, however, silent on when the airline’s insurance company would begin payment of the remaining 70 per cent of the claims to the families. 

Dana air flight from Abuja to Lagos crashed on June 3 at Iju-Ishaga, Lagos, killing all 153 persons aboard and some others on the ground.