A Federal High Court in Lagos has nullified the sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines. In a ruling on Monday, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa declared the sale null and void, citing irregularities in the bidding and selection process.
The court also ordered the federal government to halt plans to establish Nigeria Air as the national carrier. The ruling was in favour of the plaintiffs, including the registered trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and five other aviation industry stakeholders.
The defendants, including Nigeria Air Limited, Ethiopian Airlines, former Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika, and former Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, were ordered to desist from further actions on the project.
Although the court granted the plaintiffs’ request to nullify the sale, it did not award the requested N2 billion in damages. The plaintiffs had complained about their exclusion from the project and the flawed bidding process.
The controversy surrounding Nigeria Air began in 2023 when the Ministry of Aviation, under Sirika, unveiled the project with Ethiopian Airlines as a 49% equity stakeholder. The federal government held a 5% stake, while a consortium of Nigerian investors held 46%.
The House of Representatives had described the deal as “a fraud” and called for its suspension in June 2023. In August 2023, the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, announced the suspension of the project, which remains suspended as of May 27.
