Court suspends sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines

A Federal High Court in Lagos State has nullified the sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines.

The court on Monday, declared null and void the sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airline, after determining the issues in the suit.

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa ordered that the Federal Government’s plans to establish the national carrier, Nigeria Air, should be stopped.

The judgment was delivered in favour of the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria and five other aviation industry stakeholders.

Justice Lewis-Allagoa granted all the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs except for the request for N2 billion in damages.

The plaintiffs in the case include the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, Azman Air Services Limited, Air Peace Limited, Max Air Limited, United Nigeria Airlines Company Limited, and Topbrass Aviation Limited.

The defendants are Nigeria Air Limited, Ethiopian Airlines, former Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika; the Federal Ministry of Aviation, and the former Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami.

The plaintiffs sought an order to nullify the entire bidding and selection process for the Nigeria Air project, as well as the approval and selection of Ethiopian Airlines by the defendants.