Rita Odafe
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa from the Federal High Court in Lagos has put a stop to the sale of Nigeria Air Ltd to Ethiopian Airlines.
In a ruling issued on Monday, the judge blocked the sale and ordered that the Federal Government’s initiative to establish a national carrier, Nigeria Air, should be halted.
This ruling came after the plaintiffs, including the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria and other aviation sector entities, made their requests and concerns known.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa confirmed that all requests were granted, except for the demand for ₦2 billion in damages due to the wrongful exclusion of the plaintiffs and the flawed bidding and selection processes related to the Nigeria Air project.
The plaintiffs involved in the case are the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators, Azman Air Services Limited, Air Peace Limited, Max Air Limited, United Nigeria Airlines Company Limited, and Topbrass Aviation Limited.
These six plaintiffs took legal action against Nigeria Air Limited, Ethiopian Airlines, Senator Hadi Sirika (former Minister of Aviation, Federal Ministry of Aviation), and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The plaintiffs sought the court’s intervention to invalidate the entire bidding and selection process for the “Nigeria Air” venture, as well as the approval, selection, or endorsement of Ethiopian Airlines by the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, and the former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
