Grounding Of Arik Air: Festus Keyamo Has Done A Marvellous Job

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has done what many political officeholders don’t have the courage to do—comply instantly with a court order.

Yesterday, the Minister ordered the grounding of Arik Airline’s operations. The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) said the grounding of the airline’s service was in response to a court judgment, stating that in order to prevent the aircraft from being taken out of the country, the airline had to be grounded, thereby justifying the minister’s directive.

An Abuja court recently ordered the sale of Arik Air’s aircraft to offset debts owed to Arthur Eze and others by the airline. The debt is $2.5 million. The judgment creditor registered the judgment of the Lagos State High Court in the High Court of FCT, and on the 26th of June, 2024, Honourable Justice O. A. Adeniyi, then sitting in Court 8, Maitama, Abuja, made an order after hearing Motion No. M/9785/2024 filed on behalf of Atlas Petroleum, attaching all the moveable properties belonging to the judgment debtor, including the debtor’s aircraft with Registration Nos. B737-700/5N-MJF, B737-800/5N-MJQ, DASH8-Q400, and 5N-BKX, in satisfaction of the judgment debt.

The court had ordered the sale of aircraft, hangars, and movable assets belonging to Arik Air Limited. The court had specifically ordered the sale of aircraft bearing registration numbers B737-700/5N-MJF, B737-800/5N-MJQ, Dash 8-Q400, and 5N-BKK.

Minister Keyamo is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), thus he knows the law. His actions are highly commendable, and industry players have hailed him. This is a lesson to all airlines that have huge debts and are not willing to settle them; soon the hammer of the law will reach them. Well done, Keyamo, for doing the right thing at the right time.

Zayyad Muhammad writes from Abuja