Access Bank CEO, Herbert Wigwe, Family Members, Chris Ogunbanjo’s Son Die in California Chopper Crash

Top Nigerian banker Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe has died with family members and the son of late business mogul, Chief Chris Ogunbanjo, in a helicopter crash in California, according to U.S. media reports.

Wigwe, 57, was the CEO of Access Holdings Plc, traded as Access Corporation.

Wigwe, his wife – Chizoba, and an unnamed son were among the six people killed when the helicopter they were on crashed Friday night in California, an official said.

The chartered helicopter departed Palm Springs at 8:45 p.m. en route to Boulder City, Nevada, but “impacted the ground” near Halloran Springs, California, at 10:08 p.m., National Transportation Safety Board member Michael Graham said at a news conference Saturday night.

All six people on board —  the pilot-in-command, a safety pilot and four passengers — were killed, Graham said.

Authorities have not publicly identified the victims.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director general of the World Trade Organization, stated in a post on X that Herbert Wigwe, the group CEO of the Lagos-based Access Bank, was on board the helicopter with his wife and son.

She said that a fourth passenger, Bimbo Ogunbanjo, also known as Abimbola Ogunbanjo, was among the dead.

Abimbola is the son of late Nigerian lawyer and business tycoon – Chief Chris Ogunbanjo who died three months ago. He was the one running Chief Ogunbanjo’s Law Chambers after his father moved completely to the corporate world and governance.

Bamofin Abimbola Ogunbanjo also served as the Group Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, the non-operating holding company that emerged from the demutualization of The Nigerian Stock Exchange from 2021 to 2022.

Graham said the aircraft, an Airbus Helicopter H130, was operated and chartered by Orbic Air. The California-based company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Multiple motorists on nearby Interstate 15, which runs from near the U.S.-Mexico border to Las Vegas en route to Canada, reported seeing either the crash or its resulting fire Friday night, he said.

“There was fire when the aircraft did contact the terrain,” Graham said, citing witness accounts.

Halloran Springs, the name for a natural springs site in the Mojave Desert and its surrounding community, is about 80 miles south of Las Vegas, where the Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs is set to be held Sunday.

Boulder Springs is about 25 miles outside Las Vegas.

Graham said witnesses reported rain and “a wintry mix” of weather at the time of the crash, and NTSB investigators will further investigate the weather conditions.

Temperatures in the area were in the high 20s at the time of the crash, according to National Weather Service data. Winds were fairly light, at around 10 mph, but gusts were starting to move in, and some were measured at 29 mph before the sun rose Saturday, according to the weather service.

The California Highway Patrol reported shortly after the crash that a “large band of snow” was moving through Halloran Springs, according to a log of traffic incidents. It said the snow was moderate and mixed with rain.

The cause of the crash has not been determined.

Wigwe was being mourned as an influential banker who had grand ambitions for his native Nigeria and beyond.

“The death of Roosevelt Herbert Wigwe is a terrible blow for Nigeria and Africa’s banking industry,” Bayo Onanuga, spokesperson and special adviser to President Bola Tinubu, said on X.

“Wigwe had a big vision to make Access Holdings Africa’s biggest, with all the unquenchable thirst for acquisitions,” he added, referring to Access Bank’s parent company.

Nigerian journalist and celebrity Modele Sarafa-Yusuf said on her social media accounts Saturday that Wigwe was a friend, and that his loss was profound.

“He had such an amazing impact in banking and finance, art, education, and philanthropy,” she said. “Cerebral and quick-witted, he was always a joy to be around.”

The late banker recently established Wigwe University to equip Nigerian youths with the skills to compete in a complex and fast-changing world. The University is located in Isiokpo, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria, a 15-minute drive from the Port Harcourt International Airport.

Wigwe’s marriage was blessed with four children: Chizi, Tochi, Hannah and David. He hailed from Isiokpo, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Access Bank’s head of media relations, Abdul Imoyo, also died in December, 2023.

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