Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, has nullified the sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines by the ex-President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa also ordered the Federal Government to halt plans to establish a national carrier, Nigeria Air.
The judge declared the sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines null and void while determining the issues in the suit filed by the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria and five other aviation industry stakeholders against Nigeria Air.
The plaintiffs in the suit are 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, the former Aviation Minister Senator Hadi Sirika, the Federal Ministry of Aviation, and Abubakar Malami, the former Attorney-General of the Federation and Justice Minister.
The plaintiffs, in their originating summons, challenged the sale and transfer of shares of Nigeria Air. They claimed that the bidding process for Nigeria Air, facilitated by the Federal Government of Nigeria, was fraught with irregularities and favored Ethiopian Airlines, a foreign entity wholly owned by the Ethiopian Government.
They further argued that the Federal Ministry of Transportation representatives, who hold significant control in Nigeria Air, failed to comply with the request for proposal guidelines, leading to the exclusion of local airlines from the bidding process.
The plaintiffs said that the third and fourth defendants, who are key government officials, facilitated a skewed bidding process, granting the second defendant and its consortium unprecedented privileges, including a 15-year tax moratorium, exclusive terminal buildings in Lagos and Abuja, and significant financial support, which they argue will undermine local airlines and the Nigerian economy.
According to the plaintiffs, the consortium led by Ethiopian Airlines was discreetly allowed to be the sole bidder and winner, contrary to the principles of free and fair competition.
They argued that the second defendant’s business plan also proposed strategies that could stultify the operations of local airlines, further jeopardising the Nigerian aviation industry.
The plaintiffs further highlighted that Tianaero Nigeria Limited, the transaction advisor for the deal, was inadequately qualified and lacked the necessary experience, raising further concerns about the legitimacy of the bidding process.
The plaintiffs submitted that the entire process has been marred by politics and personal interests, designed to achieve an outcome detrimental to Nigerian airlines and the broader public interest.
The plaintiffs therefore prayed the court for an order nullifying the entire bidding and selection process for the Nigeria Air project, as well as the approval and selection of Ethiopian Airlines by the defendants.
While delivering judgment yesterday, Justice Lewis-Allagoa also discountenanced the sole issue raised by the second defendant (Ethiopian Airlines) and held that: “All the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs are granted except for relief number eight.
“An award made in this regard in the instant case, the plaintiffs requested damages of N2 billion for the injury suffered by the plaintiffs and still suffering as a result of the wrongful exclusion of the plaintiffs, wrongful action, unlawful bidding and selection processes, and their wrongful projection of the plaintiffs as not having properly, rightly, and timely bid for the Nigeria Air project.
“Relief number eight failed and cannot be granted.”
