Justice Ambrose Lewis-Alagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday declared the sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines void.
The court ordered that the establishment of the national airline – Nigeria Air – proposed by the Federal Government should be suspended.
The judge gave the order while granting the relief sought by the registered trustees of the Nigerian Airline Operators and five others in the aviation industry.
Justice Lewis-Alagoa granted all the reliefs sought by the plaintiff except relief number eight which sought damages of 2 billion Nigerian Naira.
The plaintiffs in the suit were the registered trustees of the airline operators, Azman Air Services Limited, Air Peace Limited, Max Air Limited, United Nigeria Airlines Company Limited and Topbras Aviation Limited, the first to be the sixth plaintiff.
However, the first to fourth respondents were Nigeria Air Limited, Ethiopian Airlines, Senator Hadi Sirika (former Aviation Minister, Federal Ministry of Aviation) and the Attorney General of the Federation.
The plaintiff filed the suit praying the court to quash the entire bidding/selection process for the “Nigeria Air” project as well as an order quashing the approval, grant or selection of the second defendant by the first, third and fourth defendants in the process.
The plaintiffs claimed that the bidding process for Nigeria Air, operated by Nigeria’s federal government, was rife with irregularities and favored Ethiopian Airlines, a foreign entity wholly owned by the Ethiopian government.
The plaintiffs argued that representatives of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, which exercises significant control over Nigeria Air, failed to comply with the request for proposal guidelines, thereby excluding local airlines from the bidding process.
The plaintiffs argued that the third and fourth defendants, who are key government officials, facilitated a biased bidding process that granted unprecedented privileges to the second defendant and its consortium.
These included a 15-year tax moratorium, special terminal buildings in Lagos and Abuja, and significant financial aid, which they argue would harm local airlines and the Nigerian economy.
According to the plaintiffs, the Ethiopian Airlines-led consortium was secretly allowed to become the sole bidder and winner, contrary to the principles of free and fair competition.
They claimed that the second defendant’s business plan proposed strategies that could disrupt the operations of local airlines, and further endanger the Nigerian aviation industry.
In addition, the plaintiffs argued that the transaction advisor for the deal, Tianero Nigeria Limited, was inadequately qualified and lacked the necessary experience, raising further concerns about the legitimacy of the bidding process.
The plaintiffs claimed that the entire process was influenced by politics and personal interests aimed at achieving results detrimental to Nigerian airlines and the wider public interest.
He sought an order quashing the entire bidding and selection process for the Nigeria Air project, as well as the approval and selection of Ethiopian Airlines by the respondents.
In the judgment delivered on Monday, Justice Lewis-Alagoa rejected the only issue raised by the second respondent (Ethiopian Airlines).
“All the reliefs sought by the plaintiff are granted, except relief number eight for compensation,” the judge said.
Well Igbintade
What should I follow:
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