The spiritual head of Nigeria's Muslims, Sultan Macchido, was killed in the crash of an ADC Airlines plane on Sunday, which resulted in some 100 deaths, authorities have confirmed.
Other dignitaries also killed included the Sultan's son, who is a senator, the deputy governor of Sokoto state and at least one other senator, the governor of Sokoto state said.
The Nigerian ADC airliner crashed shortly after taking off during a storm from the airport in Abuja. At least six people survived, according to local media.
The Boeing 727 was carrying 104 passengers and crew members, state radio reported, citing Rowland Iyayi, head of the National Air Space Management Agency.
The flight was en route to the northwest city of Sokoto and no survivors had been found. However private Channels Television reported later that at least six people survived.
Among the passengers was the sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Maccido, who is the spiritual leader of Nigeria's Muslims, according to Mustapha Shehu, spokesman for the Sokoto state government.
Shehu said the sultan's son, Muhammed Maccido, a senator, also was on the flight, along with Abdulrahman Shehu Shagari, son of former Nigerian President Shehu Shagari, who was in office between 1979 and 1983.
About half of Nigeria's 130 million people are Muslims. The West African nation is the most populous in Africa and the continent's leading oil exporter.
Security forces kept reporters away from the crash site. At the airport in Abuja, security officials are keeping away a crush of people seeking information about friends or family aboard the plane.
President Olusegun Obasanjo ordered an immediate investigation into the cause of the crash, his spokeswoman Remi Oyo said in a statement.
Oyo said Obasanjo was "deeply and profoundly shocked and saddened ... he offers condolences to all Nigerians, especially family, friends and associates of those who may have been on board."
A local radio station, Ray Power FM, reported the plane was owned by Aviation Development Co., a private Nigerian airline.
The Nigerian airline ADC last suffered a crash in November 1996, when one of its jets plunged into a lagoon outside Nigeria's main city, Lagos, killing all 143 aboard.