There was uncertainty over the operations of Arik Air Tuesday as the federal government, through the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, ordered all aircraft in the fleet of the airline grounded.
The development has put many passengers of the airline in disarray, with many of them uncertain of their flight status.
Our correspondent gathered that the grounding of the airline, which is currently in receivership, followed litigation issues with its creditors.
The Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) confirmed the airline had been grounded following a court order served on it and the minister.
NAMA, through its Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Alhaji Abdullahi Musa, recalled that on July 19, 2024, the enforcement department of the FCT High Court enforced an order made by the court regarding a debt of $2.5m owed by Arik Airline to one Atlas Petroleum International Ltd by attaching their aircraft.
He said that Arik Air, on March 8, 2016, appealed the decision of the High Court of Lagos State entering judgment against at the Court of Appeal and that on September 30, 2021, the appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in a unanimous decision, with costs.
Arik again appealed to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal, and on January 9, 2024, the Supreme Court, per Okoro, J.S.C., delivered its ruling dismissing the judgment debtor’s application for leave to appeal.
Though Arik was said to have obtained an ex parte order stopping further execution of the order, NAMA stated that it had not been formally served.
The agency said, “In the circumstances, since the first execution took place by attaching the aircraft, further execution by way of sale can be halted while the parties go back to court to resolve the issues.
“However, in order to preserve the subject matter of the present dispute which are the aircrafts in question (the res), which have already been attached, we have decided to comply with the effect of the Supreme Court order, by grounding the aircraft (subject of dispute) so that they are not taken out of the jurisdiction of the court or tampered with in a way as to frustrate the courts.
“Furthermore, the minister, being a member of the inner bar himself, understands the implication of the Supreme Court order dismissing the motion for leave to appeal and will not risk his licence as a legal practitioner or his privilege as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) by engaging in acts that will frustrate an order of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
“The parties to the dispute are encouraged to resolve their issues as quickly as possible so that the Arik aircrafts in question can resume flight operations.”
But the management of the airline expressed dismay by what it called the “sudden order” issued by the minister.
Captain Roy Ilegbodu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the airline, said, “This decision, made without warning or consultation, has serious repercussions for our valued passengers, dedicated employees and the broader Nigerian economy.
“This decision hurts everyday Nigerians who rely on our flights for business, family and essential activities.
“The decision also disregards ongoing judicial processes. On February 26, 2016, a judgment was made in favour of Atlas Petroleum International Limited and Engineer Arthur Eze.
“However, there is an ongoing case in the Federal High Court, where Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) is asserting its secured interest in Arik’s assets. Despite this, a writ of attachment was issued on July 18, 2024, targeting our Aircraft, subsequent to which, further to an originating motion filed by AMCON, the High Court of the FCT on July 25, 2024 clearly instructed all parties to maintain status quo. We therefore are perplexed as to the grounding of our fleet, which is an overreach of the ongoing judicial processes and directives of court.
“We believe this action undermines the rule of law and sets a dangerous precedent, prioritising unsecured private interests over the public good and the rights of secured creditors. We are committed to following the legal process and have full faith in the judiciary to resolve these matters fairly.”
A spokesman of the minister, Tunde Moshood, in an interview with our correspondent, said what the minister did was just to enforce the Supreme Court judgement, understanding the implication of such.
Arik had cancelled all its flights following the grounding of its three aircraft.
Spokesman of the airline, Mr Ola Adebanji, told our correspondent that the passengers of the airline had been briefed of the cancellation and that they would begin to refund those who sought to be refunded.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) have called for calm from passengers.
While NCAA said it continued to monitor the situation and engaged Arik Air on its plans for the affected passengers, its consumer protection officers were available at the terminals to monitor passenger handling and to offer information.
