Herbert Wigwe dead – Banking CEO dies with wife and son in helicopter crash in California, killing all six on board

THE CEO of one of Nigeria's largest banks has died along with his wife and son after the helicopter they were traveling in crashed.

Access Bank CEO Herbert Wigwe, 57, was one of six people tragically killed when the plane crashed in the desert.

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The helicopter is believed to have crashed south of Interstate 15 near Halloran Springs Rd in Southern California's Mojave Desert shortly after 10 p.m. on Friday.

The two pilots and Bamofin Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former chairman of the Nigerian stock exchange NGX Group, were tragically killed.

The death of Wigwe, his family and Ogunbanjo was confirmed on Saturday by a former Nigerian Finance Minister, now Director General of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

She wrote in a post on

“May the souls of the departed rest in perfect peace.”

Wigwe's death has sent shockwaves around the world and in the banking industry, where he was widely regarded as an industry leader.

Access Bank's assets and presence grew across borders in several African countries under Wigwe's leadership.

Previously, he was an executive director at another major bank in the country, Guaranty Trust Bank.

Nigerian presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said Wigwe's death was “a terrible blow” to Nigeria and the African banking sector.

He wrote of

Michael Graham of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, said the helicopter crashed about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northeast of Barstow.

He added that he did not yet have information about the two crew members who died: a pilot and a safety pilot.

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