A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos State, yesterday, nullified the sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, in a judgment, declared as null and void the purported sale after determining the issues in the suit instituted by the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria and five other aviation industry stakeholders.
The Court also ordered that the Federal Government’s plans to establish the national carrier, Nigeria Air, should be halted.
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.
