Weeping, as the holy book says, may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Almost five years after their long quest for justice began, the family of late former Ondo commissioner for culture and tourism Deji Falae have a reason to smile again. The federal high court in Lagos has given judgement in their favour in a suit they brought against the operator of the ill-fated air flight that sent their beloved husband and father to an early grave.

In her decision, the presiding judge, Justice Hadiza Shagari, ruled that Associated Airlines, the airline operator, and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) the local airspace regulator, must bear the brunt of the blame for the fatal plane crash that untimely robbed Deji, son of elder statesman Olu Falae, of a promising life and rendered his wife a widow and his children fatherless.

Recall that on October 3, 2013, an Associated Airlines plane carrying the remains of former Ondo governor Olusegun Agagu to Akure for burial crashed near a fuel dump located in Murtala Muhammed airport, killing Deji and twelve of the other nineteen people on board.

In the aftermath of the gruesome tragedy, Deji’s widow Ese and her three school-age children launched a suit against Associated Airlines Nigeria and NCAA, praying the court to hold that the crash was caused by the defendants’ negligence and dereliction of duty. They also asked for $100,000 as general damages and 220 million Naira as income minus living expenses the deceased would have earned in fifteen years as a commissioner, owner of a construction company and lawyer had he remained alive.

Although the counsel for Associated Airlines mounted a spirited defence, there was nothing but jubilation all around as the judge granted Ese and her kids the 245.5 million Naira compensation they sought. There is no doubt the money will prove very useful for the widowed woman and her children as they face the prospect of spending the rest of their lives without their breadwinner.